


Warlocks and Peacecraft: The Beginning

by ExAltia



Series: WAP: Bring a Helmet and a Lance [1]
Category: The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Video Game World, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Grad Student Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani, Grad Student Nicky | Nicolò di Genova, Humor, M/M, MMORPGs, Minor Andy | Andromache of Scythia/Quynh | Noriko, Misunderstandings, Slow Burn, Video Game Mechanics, Virtual Reality
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-17 00:14:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 27,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29341128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ExAltia/pseuds/ExAltia
Summary: Nicolò “Nicky” di Genova had started playing Warlocks And Peacecraft a few weeks ago because the latest VR headset promised to help him with his insomnia. However, he’d joined a popular guild right off the bat and become over-invested in his Paladin Knight avatar. And things were going pretty good until this guy and his sister teamed up and murdered him in a beginner’s dungeon.Yusuf “Joe” Al-Kaysani had started playing Warlocks and Peacecraft with his sister to get away from his real life trouble, but he hadn’t expected to love the game and his Alchemist knight avatar this much. But when the largest guild in the game targets his sister and corpse camps her, he’s pissed. When he finds her defending herself against one of them in a beginner’s dungeon, he stabs him in the back, grabs his sister and runs.
Relationships: Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova
Series: WAP: Bring a Helmet and a Lance [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2155200
Comments: 19
Kudos: 78
Collections: The Old Guard Big Bang





	1. Nicky

**Author's Note:**

> Well, this took me for forever XD. Creating a game concept from scratch was harder than I thought so a lot of different elements are borrowed from different games/shows that I've played or watched. Eagle-eyed readers might catch elements of WoW, Final Fantasy, and some others....
> 
> Anyway, please enjoy my labor of love!
> 
> PS for those of you are wondering at my choice of acronym- it was completely intentional XD I brainstormed with a friend for an hour to figure out a good name that would make the abbreviation WAP. I hope you enjoyed it, I'm still laughing XDDD

The worst rivalry, and best romance, of Nicky’s life all started because of his insomnia. If he’d been able to catch a decent night’s sleep, he would have never gone to the doctor, and then he would have never been recommended the newest VR headset as an alternative to sleeping pills. And then if Warlocks and Peacecraft hadn’t been the newest and hottest game on the market at the time, he probably would have ended up playing Pokémon Galaxy Super on his new shiny VRG headset.

As it was, he had the state-of-the-art Virtual Reality machine clutched tightly in his hands one afternoon after leaving the doctor’s office. It had forced him to delve into his savings more than he would have liked, but if he could catch a good night’s rest and focus on his coursework for the semester (without the grogginess typically caused by sleeping aids), it would be well worth it.

Plugging it in, booting it up, and reading the game instructions had been the easy part, but when it came to laying down to sleep and putting the headset over his eyes, Nicky was hesitant. There were emergency measures in place that would wake him up if need be, but… that was the root of his insomnia, he supposed. His anxieties were coming to haunt him in his most vulnerable moments and that was why he needed this in the first place.

Nicky sighed, put the clear visor over his head, and then shifted against the pillow to get comfortable. He started to close his eyes, the visor blinking as it began counting down.

He didn’t know when it had happened, but Nicky was in his bed one moment and in a large, blank room the next. A bright white button floating in front of him. Hesitantly, he tapped it.

_WELCOME!_

The message flashed before him and suddenly the game logo rushed at him from somewhere in the distance, proudly announcing that he was playing _Warlocks and Peacecraft_. Nicky tapped the start button and then new game.

The room around him shifted and a small sprite popped up from the ground next to him.

“Hello!” the ball of light with legs and eyes said to him. Nicky looked down, startled at the sudden appearance and the high-pitched voice.

“Hello,” Nicky said in return after a long pause.

“Welcome to Warlocks and Peacecraft! Are you ready to customize your character?” the sprite asked cheerfully. “I’m Ami! Here to guide you!”

“Oh, uh, thank you,” Nicky said as the AI waited for a response.

“Wonderful!” the sprite chirped before it skipped forward. “Now, you have a few choices to make before you can go on new adventures and make new friends in the wonderful world of Eratus.”

“Okay…” Nicky said as he followed the sprite.

“First, please enter your username here,” Ami said, a text box and a keyboard appearing above it, level with Nicky’s hips.

Nicky leaned down thoughtfully and typed in his childhood nickname ‘Nico’, hoping that he wouldn’t be forced to get more creative than that.

“Alright! Hello, Nico!” Ami said as the text box glowed green and disappeared while the sprite did a little dance. “Now…”

The sprite sprinted off again, too fast for Nicky to follow.

“Please choose your gender, your appearance, your class, your weapon and your two job classes!” the spite continued as it tapped on the ground in a semi-circle.

Different pillars of light rose from the ground and Nicky slowly walked up to the first one. Here he could choose his physical appearance, and he selected Male without a second thought, he didn’t really want to spend his first playthrough roleplaying as a girl. His appearance he tweaked a bit, making his skin tone a little paler though he was reluctant to change his eye color too much. It was his favorite feature. He chuckled to himself as he played with his facial structure, distorting his features and making himself bright purple before he changed it back to a face that vaguely resembled himself. Though the features were skewed and the skin a chalky white that made his own pale skin look healthy and tanned.

In the end, he was a pale, dark-haired human male who looked kind of like a cousin of his in real life. He laughed as he added the final touch, dark circles under his avatar’s eyes that so clearly reflected his own. He walked over to the next pillar of light and saw a selection of classes, weapons, and jobs he could choose from.

He carefully read through each description, deliberating between the benefits of being a Berserker or Paladin. He’d readily discarded the choice of anything to do with magic. Becoming a Warlock or a Mage or a Priest looked too complicated for a casual first-time player, but Nicky was relatively certain he could swing a sword around. He looked at the Paladin stats and saw that he had an option to learn Holy magic later on.

 _That would be okay,_ Nicky thought. He wouldn’t have to wait for his second playthrough to experience magic gameplay, but he wouldn’t have to figure it out right away. He selected Paladin and then scrolled through the weapon choices for his class. He could use a war hammer, a sword, a crossbow, or an axe. He shrugged and chose sword, the simplest choice.

The only thing left was a job… and he had to choose two. One he would have immediate access to and the other he would unlock at level 25 along with his holy magic. He chose Cooking and Potioneer, figuring that they were the most practical choices.

After that, the rest of the character creation went smoothly. He chose his armor type: a simple selection of brown leather armor that covered his chest, arms, and legs. A pale grey tunic he wore underneath. His sash, a strip of cloth that declared his guild allegiance, was tied around his waist and a blank white.

At the next pillar he chose his guild. This part was optional, but Nicky figured it would be better to start the game with people he could reach out to for help.

“Hmm,” Nicky hummed thoughtfully as he scrolled through the options. The only serious guild that was currently accepting members was MERRICK. He wasn’t crazy about their guild color scheme… a red skull against a black background didn’t look particularly inviting, but the guild had the most members and had the highest ranking out of all the ones offered.

Nicky shrugged and selected them. He could leave at any time if he were unhappy. He then walked over to the blue glowing doorway that had appeared as he made his last selection. The small sprite was jumping up and down and calling to him with excitement in its voice.

“Are you ready to start playing?” It asked.

“Yes?” Nicky said after he’d touched the doorway and realized he couldn’t begin the game until he answered.

“Good luck, traveler!” the sprite exclaimed and at that, Nicky’s hand fell into the blue light. He stepped back, startled before he shook his head and walked through the door.

~~~~~

Nicky heaved his sword at the Garula’s head, panting as he managed to catch the sweet spot under the giant pig-monster’s neck and kill it. He’d been slowly level-grinding for a few weeks now, and he had finally managed to reach level 24. As it turned out, his guildmates weren’t the friendliest, but the special forums and the perks of being in a high-level guild were helpful enough that he didn’t really mind. He preferred to play on his own anyway, occasionally pitching in when there was a level-appropriate guild event before wandering off again. Sometimes he wished he had chosen differently, perhaps it would have given him an opportunity to make friends, but… no, it was for the best. He wasn’t a terribly social person in real life either.

He’d done fairly well for himself as it was, it had been fun to figure out the game mechanics and to take on story quests. It had taken a lot of effort, but now he was equipped with his own custom steel-plate armor, a thick brown tunic underneath that had its own additional protections as well as brown leather gloves, trousers, and boots. His sword was custom made and he’d been rather proud of that trade especially. He’d managed to make a good deal with a guild metalworker who actually liked his cooking.

The red skull on his guild sash was the only splash of color on him though, except for his eyes. But those were mostly hidden in the shadows of his steel helmet, so it hardly counted. It wasn’t a very attractive design, especially compared to some of the more flamboyant getups that he’d seen when visiting the main city, but it worked for him.

This was the first time he’d been back to the beginner area since leaving it at level ten, but he was currently collecting special ingredients to prepare for his second job, Potioneer. He was excited to unlock it, but he needed to collect 100 Garula fibers, 70 Batula hairs, and 60 Haripo claws… which was a little tedious, to say the least. He wondered at the decisions the game designers had made….

He sighed as he saw another Garula in the distance. He only had a few more in him before he would take a break and run through the local dungeon. The boss, the Imbi Imp, gave you a special item drop if you were a high enough level. The requirements for leveling up were tedious, but at least Nicky was having fun re-exploring the starter areas.

It was either that or participate in more guild events, but since he was still below level 25, he wasn’t obligated to attend very many. Unfortunately, he would have a quota when he managed to set himself up with his new job and class skills. Nicky shrugged to himself as he attacked another Garula from behind. If he really didn’t like working with the main guild members, he would leave.

He’d had a feeling that he’d made a poor guild choice when he caught the occasional reaction to his guild sash, though it had taken him a while to notice it. The strangest occurrence had been a week ago when someone had thrown themselves at his feet and asked that he have mercy on him and his guild. Nicky had sped off as quickly as possible and vowed not to return to that town until he either figured out what had happened.

In the meantime, Nicky killed his last few Garula’s, taking a small break in the peaceful glen as he ate one of the meals he’s cooked in preparation for the journey. Cooking was a job a few of his guildmembers had side-eyed him about, another mark against them. Some of them even offering him a special price for a job reassignment potion, but Nicky enjoyed the in-game cooking experience. The perks were wonderful too.

Nicky was currently eating a sweet, buttery fruit bread that he had figured out the flavor profile of through extended trial and error. In-game cooking could be wonderful if you did it right. You could follow the recipe with any basic ingredient, but there were thousands of combinations from food items you could either buy or find in the wild. Nicky absolutely loved it though many other players saw it as overly complicated for a job that wasn’t as exciting as Archeology or as lucrative as Metalwork.

But Nicky was utterly baffled as to why more people didn’t take advantage of the Cooking job perks. Delicious food that you could eat without getting fat? And the buffs you could get if you harvested or bought the right ingredients were better than the ones you could get from high level Mages and Shaman.

Nicky was smug as his +25% Item Drop boost and +35% Experience boost refreshed. Keane and his opinions could suck it.

After taking a minute, Nicky rose to his feet with a sigh, brushing the imaginary dirt from his clothing as he stretched his arms out. He looked around the wooded glen; the soft, lush grass swaying in the breeze, the rustle of the virtual trees, and the bright blue sky above him.

Nicky flicked his hand downward, opening his menu, and selected his map.

“Not too far away,” Nicky muttered to himself as he zoomed in over his location. The dungeon he was headed toward was about a three-minute walk away and there looked to be several harvestable herbs and fruits along the way.

“And I’ll be able to get this all done with enough time to head back to Haki Haki Village for some trade,” Nicky nodded to himself as he closed his map and started off in the direction of the dungeon. This was looking to be a very productive evening indeed.

~~~~~

“Ah! Get away from me!”

Nicky picked up his head as he heard a cry from deeper inside the cave. He’d just finished killing his last Batula; the small, winged monster had been a pain to whack down with his longsword, and he hadn’t expected to see anyone else in the dungeon since it had been so quiet outside and in the nearby village.

“Hello?” he called as he stepped further into the cave. He heard what sounded like a woman panting and the clang of metal. A shrill, echoing laughter bounced off the cave wall, sending shivers down Nicky’s spine.

“Are you okay?” Nicky asked again, walking faster as he heard a shriek of pain.

“No!” the voice, definitely a woman’s, called back. “Please! Help!”

Nicky ran around the winding corridor that led to where the boss, the level 12 Imbi Imp, had its lair. Though it was relatively low-level for a dungeon boss, it could be tricky for new players.

Nicky finally made it to the boss room, crossing the threshold of the large stone archway and surveying his surroundings. The flickering torches lining the sides of the round chamber lit up the arena, and Nicky caught sight of a small, cloaked figure on the other side. He watched as they relentlessly dodged the demonic, shadowy Imp as it swung at her again and again with a large steel axe.

The player, a Rogue, was using daggers to deflect the boss’ blade, but was clearly taking damage with every hit. Nicky used scan on the room and groaned when he saw the Rogue was only level 8. Where were her teammates? A Rogue at that level couldn’t complete a boss battle solo when the opponent was four levels higher than them. He had been hesitant to interfere at first, not wanting to steal the EXP from a group trying to complete their first dungeon, but if a player this low level was killed in a boss fight without back up, they ran the risk of being caught in a spawn-kill cycle.

One of the worst features of this game, Nicky thought, was that if you died, either from PvP or PvE combat, you lost a level. It was okay most of the time, but he’d read about a few incidents where a person had been caught in a situation like this one- caught in an endless loop of being killed by a monster and being unable to get away until someone helped them. The function had supposedly also been abused by some guilds to harass players, knocking a player back down to level one for some perceived slight. Nicky had only heard rumors though.

“I’ll help you!” Nicky called out as he unsheathed his sword. Nicky flicked his hand through the air, quick selecting the option that would give himself the Blessing of Protection. He watched as the 25% Def Boost popped up and he eyed the dungeon boss. He shouldn’t need too much help, but it was better to go in prepared than not.

He walked swiftly toward the two of them, trying to aggro the boss away from the other player so that she could escape.

“Oh thank you-“ she said as she turned to look at him before she opened her mouth and screamed.

“What-“ Nicky said, turning his head to look behind him, but seeing nothing. A blow knocked him down as the Imbi Imp took advantage of his distraction and attacked him with his axe.

“Urgh,” Nicky groaned as he hit the floor and felt the impact drain his HP bar. He was double his enemy’s level, but it was still unpleasant to take a direct blow from a dungeon boss. “What on earth?”

Nicky rolled to the side as the Imp swung the axe down onto the place he’d been sitting. He stood quickly, his sword at the ready once more as he anticipated another attack. Unfortunately, the blow came from the side, twin daggers digging into the cracks of his armor as the Rogue flanked him.

“What?” Nicky cried again as he backpedaled away from her and the encroaching figure of the boss. He couldn’t understand what was happening.

“Get away from me, you asshole,” the Rogue yelled at him, waving her daggers at him wildly. She shrieked and scampered away as the Imp took a swing at her again now that she was the closest target.

“Let me help you,” Nicky called as he lunged forward, catching the blade of the axe with his longsword, and flinging the Imp’s axe hand to the side. Nicky felt a surge of adrenaline spike through him as he swung his sword at the monster’s chest, feeling triumphant as he managed to deal a decent blow.

He gasped in pain again as two daggers stuck themselves into his back. It wasn’t too bad since the rogue was at a much lower level than himself, but between the rogue and the boss, he was nearly at half his health.

“Why?” Nicky shouted at her as he backed away from the boss and the other player once more.

“I’m not going to let you zero me out again, do you hear me?” the rogue said to him. Her face, shadowed by the hood of her dark cloak, was scrunched in anger as she pointed her daggers at him in anger and accusation.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Nicky said to her as he moved forward to catch the blade of the Imp’s axe.

“I don’t believe you,” she said, and she made to stab him, though this time from the front.

Nicky sighed as he kicked the Imp away from him, shuddering at the hit his HP took from the action. His boots were not meant to deal damage to creature opponents, even though the boss was weaker than him. He turned in time to counter the rogue’s strike, knocking her to side in attempt to get away.

“Could we just put this on pause until after the boss is defeated?” Nicky tried to reason. From the Imp’s roar of anger and the Rogue’s scream of outrage, his request was out of the question.

Nicky sighed as he ducked and swerved around the combined attacks of the dungeon boss and the Rogue. He did his best to take the Imp’s attacks when the Rogue managed to accidently aggro it, but that always left him open to her own stabs and slashes.

“Why is this my life?” Nicky panted as he dodged another dual attack. He had been slowly maneuvering the fight toward the entrance and was tempted to make a run for it. Hopefully, the insane Rogue would do the same instead of attempting to attack him further or stay and be killed by the boss.

“Brother!” the Rogue cried suddenly, a bright smile lighting up her face as she caught sight of something behind Nicky. “Help me kill them both!”

“What?” was all Nicky had time to say before a sword was thrust through his back and out his chest; the last quarter of his HP was instantly demolished. He turned his head to catch sight of another swordsman, a Wizard or a Mage by look of his gear. What surprised him was the fierce look of anger on his face as he struck Nicky down.

“Why?” Nicky choked as he stumbled to his feet.

The other man ignored him as he looked to his sister, shouting something to her that Nicky couldn’t hear. His world dissolved into pixels.

~~~~~

Nicky woke up in the cave about a minute later. It had taken him a while to run from the nearest graveyard to the dungeon as a spirit, and he had cursed the entire way. What on earth had happened? Why had that man and his sister decided he was their worst enemy?

He looked down at his sash and thought about all those strange encounters. Could it really be his guild? As unfriendly as some members could be, they were high-ranking and open to new players. Not to mention they’d been very helpful to Nicky when he’d been learning how to play the game. Perhaps he looked like another player who had done horrible things… mistaken identity was certainly more believable considering what had just happened.

In his spirit form, he looked down at his crumpled avatar, then at the boss lurking nearby, and sighed. Nicky waited until it migrated to the far side. He would only have 1 HP when he awoke, and it wouldn’t do to be killed again before he could drink a health potion. He still had to finish gathering items for his Potioneer job requirements after all, and he would need the extra EXP now that he’d lost a level….


	2. Joe

Joe often wondered if it had been a wise decision to start playing a game with the acronym “WAP”, but about two months in, he was growing increasingly attached to the game and his Mage-Alchemist Knight avatar.

When he managed to make it to level 20, he had shelled out for custom robes and armor, asking an expert tailor to make him something more inspired than the pre-made options. The end result had been magnificent and well worth the gold he’d saved up by doing weeks’ worth of excess Metalwork.

His sister Shamya often scoffed at his vanity, but he was now the proud owner of a very beautiful cloth-of-gold undercoat with yellow suns stitched into the fabric. He had made his own bronze-scaled chest armor, greaves, and helmet with all the bonuses he’d been able to purchase at level 20. He knew he’d have to upgrade the whole thing eventually, but he thought his appearance rather dashing, and it had been ages since he’d felt this much pride in his accomplishments.

~~~~~

So all in all, Joe was having a fine time in the game. He occasionally played with his sister, but more often than not he explored the game solo, traveling the diverse zones available to players in the world of Eratus. His favorite by far was the Ice Region, Altak; it was a mid-level area that he could explore endlessly. There was something magnificent about being able to enjoy as much snow and winter scenery as he liked without real-life discomfort.

He thought that the other less extreme areas were pretty enough, but why bother staying in fields or forests, places you could easily see in real life? He wanted to climb icy mountains, see the center of a volcano, and explore the very depths of maze-like caverns.

At home, he had little freedom to travel or do what he liked. The illness of his elder brother, Karim, had taken a turn for the worse recently and his parents were distraught, constantly distracted between caring for their eldest son and keeping their family restaurant running. His youngest brother, Omar, was still in high school, but he was home less and less, constantly staying with friends as the chaos at home escalated with Karim’s latest hospitalization.

Joe, as an art student living at home, had stepped up to help his parents. He’d taken a side job, hosted at the restaurant, and went to Omar’s school events when a parent or guardian was needed. Some days it felt like all that kept him from fleeing the country was his older brother’s gaunt face and soft eyes. The weary kindness and the loving advice he gave Joe set his mind at ease, as much as it broke his heart to see him in pain.

Still, sometimes it was more than he could bear, and so when his younger sister, Shamya, had offered him the opportunity to escape to a virtual world… it was a blessing he hadn’t known he needed. And he was grateful to his sister for it, though he would never let her know how much. He would be teased mercilessly until they were both one foot in the grave.

But still, he loved and cherished his sister dearly. And that was why when she came to him late one gaming session, sobbing after being corpse camped back to level one, the only thing he could see was red, his rage boiled inside him so intensely.

It was a well-known secret that the MERRICK guild was shadier than most. They were notorious for being selfish and uncourteous when partnering with other guilds for major events. And there were always rumors flying around about people being corpse camped, though Joe had never met any of the victims personally. Not until his sister had run afoul of the guild during the last server-wide dungeon raid, that is.

“I don’t know why they got so mad at me, brother,” Shamya said, furious now that her distress had faded. “It was a multi-guild event! No one has more claim over items found than any other! And even if they did, I would have just given it to them if they wanted it that badly!”

Shamya seethed a little longer before she eventually sighed and told him she needed to travel back to the beginner area to level up again.

“I’ll go with you,” Joe said with great sympathy.

“You don’t have to,” she said, shaking her head as she pulled up her map. “Escort me to the teleportation pad so I don’t get killed by a Wartalog sneezing on me, and I’ll be happy enough. It’s going to be boring with you watching me kill Drillbees and Garulas for hours.”

“It’s alright,” Joe protested. “What if you see another one of those pricks? What then?”

Shamya looked down thoughtfully, biting her lip for a moment in contemplation before nodding. And that was how Joe found himself shadowing his little sister for several days as she slowly leveled up again. It might not have been so bad, but apparently it was frustrating to no longer have all the skills she once relied on.

He laughed as she tried to activate stealth, or some other magic she once possessed, and constantly found herself flatfooted. More than once he had had to step in and protect her from some low-level creature, cackling wildly as she stabbed him with her daggers.

It was as boring as Shamya had promised him it would be, but it was also surprisingly peaceful. He did some job-skill leveling as he sat in the area while his sister level grinded, creating metal trinkets that he could make from scrap metal and sell for spare coin. He was excited to unlock his secondary job skill, archeology. It would make it easier to find rare metals and quest artifacts, and coupled with his enchanting abilities as an alchemist, he would have enough to perhaps buy a plot of land in the capital for his own guild one day.

He wasn’t sure whether he wanted to create his own guild or help an already existing one but even if it wasn’t real, there was something heady about the idea of owning property. It was an intoxicating thought since he had very little hope of it in his real life… too weighed down by his student loan debt, lack of job opportunities as well as the endless medical bills that he felt he needed to help his parents with. As it was, he was a poor grad student who worked in an art gallery on the weekends, his parent’s restaurant during weekdays, and had very little hope of owning a television, let alone a house.

But he could create a tidy little home in the capital city of Alexandria. Employing an engineer to build a house would be the next step after the purchase, then he would need to buy furnishings… all in all it would probably amount to well over 50,000 gold… and that would be if he went with the smallest and cheapest options.

He could probably afford better if his sister helped him, but she wasn’t interested, as she’d told him several times. She wanted to steal things and kill people, and she didn’t need a plot of virtual land to do it.

Joe rolled his eyes and wondered how the shy, sweet veterinary student he knew in real life could be the same person as this blood thirsty Rogue. Well, as shy and sweet as an annoying sister who was five years younger than him could be.

Eventually, Shamya felt she was at a high enough level to take on the dungeon of the area.

“I’ll gain at least three levels in one go,” she explained to him, when he raised a brow at her and then at the minimum suggested requirement for the dungeon. Which she didn’t meet.

“Well, at least I’ll be with you,” Joe said, as he crossed his arms and sighed.

“No!” she protested, shaking her head. She made a face at him that he could barely see through the artificial darkness that shrouded her face under her hood. “If you’re with me all of the experience will be halved. I’ll be fine by myself.”

“Whatever,” Joe said as he rolled his eyes. “I’ll wait outside.”

“Go make yourself useful and mine some metal deposits,” Shamya said with a laugh. “That way you can keep yourself occupied tomorrow.”

“Sure,” Joe said with a small smile, but he stroked his chin thoughtfully, bearded in the virtual world as much as it was in the real one. Though the texture wasn’t quite the same.

So Joe left Shamya to it while he circled the surrounding area and mined low-level iron and copper deposits. He was hoping to come across something a little more uncommon… silver would be a welcome discovery and entirely possible even in the beginner zones. However, he startled when he received an emergency message from his sister.

 _“Joe come and save me, you ass!”_ Shamya’s voice yelled at him from their contact link. _“I’m having trouble with the boss!”_

Joe groaned and opened his map. He had gone farther from the dungeon entrance than he would have liked, and it would take a good five minutes to get there.

 _“Hold on, I’m on my way,”_ Joe sent her in return before he began to sprint through the trees, thinking that if his sister got herself killed and lost one of her levels, it would serve her right.

So what Joe expected to find was his sister desperately fighting off the Imbi Imp, the toughest boss in the lowest level dungeon of the game. What he hadn’t expected to see was that awful sash, the garish skull motif mocking him, or the look of panic and fear on his sister’s face as she fended off the dungeon boss and the sinister-looking MERRICK guild member. A member of that same guild that had put his sister into this situation in the first place.

Joe pursed his lips and drew his scimitar, counting himself lucky that the fool had his back to the entrance and was focused on terrorizing his sister.

The man turned his head with a soft exclamation, and all Joe caught was a flash of blue eyes in a pale face before his sword was stabbing the man through. It was over in a moment, Joe pulling out the sword as he turned to his sister and shouted at her.

“Let’s go,” Joe told her, ignoring the other player as he mumbled something and then crumpled to the floor. The avatar empty as his spirit was transported to the nearest player graveyard. “You can level up in another area, let’s leave before he revives.”

“This was _not_ how I planned to spend my day,” his sister grumbled as she dodged an attack from the dungeon boss, stepped over the MERRICK member’s corpse, and booked it out the room. Joe shook his head and followed her, casting a stern glance at the man’s avatar. If he knew what was good for him, he would take the lesson to heart and leave both him and his sister alone.

~~~~~

Shamya had managed to level up her avatar to a respectful level fifteen when Joe decided to leave her on her own. Though he made her promise that she would call on him if she needed him.

“Yes, brother,” she said, rolling her eyes as she messaged a friend. Luckily, she had a few contacts who were low-level enough to run a few dungeons with her. “We see enough of each other at home, we hardly need to spend all our time together in the game.”

“Yes, yes,” Joe said, and he gave her a hug. “Good luck.”

“I was level forty before, you know,” she reminded him, but she hugged him tightly in return before heading off to the teleportation circle, the flared ends of her dark purple rogue cloak flapping behind her as she ran.

“I suppose I’ll work on leveling up to twenty-five and then kickstart my archeology skill,” Joe said thoughtfully, opening the player guide and reading up on the requirements. Luckily, he didn’t need to collect any strange ingredients like many other jobs required. But he did have to make some expensive purchases and run two special quests to unlock it. It seemed a little excessive to Joe, but it certainly made the game more interesting.

He headed to one of the higher-level towns, happy to be out of the Haki Haki fields and back into a place where he could make some decent trades and get the much-needed access to certain quest NPCs. Kazindr would be his first stop; the desert landscape of that area had an austere beauty to it, but Joe found the constant wind and sand particles flying through the air and into his eyes a bother.

Unfortunately, it was the only place he could go to get the special archeology quests. He did envy other jobs, like Potioneer, that could go anywhere for their leveling even though they had awful collection requirements. His sister had griped for days when she unlocked her Potioneering job. There wasn’t much to be done about it though and he walked sedately after his sister to the teleportation zone.

He couldn’t wait to reach level 40 so that he could acquire a mount though. He thought that it would be rather romantic to travel through the different landscapes by horseback, nothing but himself and the wind at his back as he searched for hidden treasures.

Thankfully, the main town in Kazindr was easy enough to find after teleporting, but he sighed as a dust storm kicked just as he arrived. He wondered at the level of detail the programmers had put into the game. The mechanics of it all were mind-bogglingly intricate, the landscapes varied and gorgeous, the quests as challenging as they were intriguing, but he wondered at their decision to put in things as mundane and trying as weather patterns. He’d been caught in storms of various kinds while in-game and the only one he had enjoyed had been the snowstorm.

Living in the Netherlands, it rained more than it snowed, and he enjoyed the prettiness of a proper snowstorm. The desert could hang itself though. Even though he knew it was in his head, he swore he could feel the sand crawling its way underneath his clothing and into his mouth and eyes.

“Hold the door!” Joe yelled as he caught sight of another player pushing open the gate leading to the main town. The large stone doors were set to shut automatically at the beginning of a sandstorm to protect the players inside from the effects.

Kazindr village was situated between a gaping chasm of stone in the middle of a desert, the jagged rocks rose above the desert landscape and were visible for miles. Once inside, the pointed rocks loomed over the little town, allowing just the barest hint of sky to be seen between them. It gave the town protection enough from the storm, though Joe guessed that it wouldn’t be as effective in real life.

“Please, hold it!” Joe yelled again as the blurry figure still struggled with the gates.

“Hurry!” the man yelled back, the wind and sand truly began to pick up as Joe sprinted as fast as he could. He raised a hand instinctively to shield his eyes from the worst of the storm, though it obscured his vision further, and the only thing he could see was the ground directly beneath him.

“Thank you, thank you!” he said to him as he squeezed through the open crack. “I hate the weather they’ve program here.”

“I know, it’s the worst,” the man commiserated as he yanked the heavy wooden gate shut, the howling wind cutting off abruptly. The man, a knight of some kind by the look of his shining metal armor and dark tunic, turned to look at him.

All Joe could see were those haunting eyes, and then the rush of anger and indignation flooded his veins once more. When he took in Joe’s appearance, a similar emotion washed over the other man’s face and he grew visibly agitated.

“You!” they yelled at each other simultaneously, both drawing their weapons and pointing them at the other. Joe frowned when he saw the man quick select a status effect and a shimmer of light surrounded him. His scan was too low level to pick out specific buffs, but he didn’t like it.

“Scoundrel,” the man said forcefully as he swiped at him with his sword. 

Joe ignored the duel initiation message that pinged in his peripheral vision as he blocked the blow from the heavy longsword with his scimitar.

“Low life,” Joe accused him in return.

It was a blur of swords, armor, and shouting after that. They quickly drew the attention of the other players in the area, several of them yelling encouragement to either or both. Joe did his best to ignore them as he focused on his opponent.

The other player’s pale face was determined and grim, both of them on an equal level with each other, Joe soon found, and he thought that the other man must have been fairly weakened when he’d landed that blow on him in Haki Haki.

They quickly wore each other down, the small clearing in front of the town entrance hindering the other man while Joe was able to dodge and swerve around him.

“Hey, guys!” a voice from the surrounding crowd called to them. “Could you do this somewhere else? You’re blocking the entrance!”

Joe was startled by the sudden noise and was stabbed through the middle as a consequence. He watched out of the corner of his eye as his hit points took a sudden drop.

“Ooooooo,” went the crowd, and it drowned of the voice of the one person who had been trying to restore some semblance of order.

“Villain,” Joe spat as he lifted his blade in a guard position. “You weren’t satisfied before, so you had to come after me too?”

“Are you _insane?”_ the other man said incredulously, his face scrunched in confusion.

Joe scoffed though. A man who would attack his sister, who had only been level eight at the time, but wouldn’t take on an opponent his own level was hardly worthy of respect. Joe lunged with his sword, hoping to catch the other off guard, but the man must have used a very good buff because he dodged it easily and managed to deal the finishing blow.

The last thing Joe saw before his avatar died and his spirit was sent to the town’s graveyard, were those hateful eyes in that hateful sallow face.


	3. Improbable Meetings

To say Nicky was surprised to see his Haki Haki attacker in Kazindr was an understatement. That the duel started at the entrance of Kazindr Village both was and wasn’t surprising. On one hand, what were the chances he would run into the other player in the middle of the desert? On the other hand, after Haki Haki, Nicky had been indignant and increasingly angry the more he thought about what had happened, so it only seemed natural to vent his frustration once the man had attacked him _again_. He’d even held the gate open for him, which he dearly regretted now. He would have been better off slamming it in the man’s face.

At least this time he left without being sent to the nearest graveyard for resurrection. He quickly accepted the congratulations of the small crowd and then ran further into town. He didn’t want the man to attack him again by surprise.

He would also have to take care to keep a low profile while he finished his Potioneering job quest. Nicky had made a fast friend in a fellow paladin called DeNile who he was planning to meet here. She was finishing her own Archeology job quest and since Potioneers could complete their quests anywhere, they had decided to meet up. At the very least Nicky would have a good story to tell her and hopefully he’d be able to get some advice while he was at it. Surely this wasn’t a normal situation to be in.

He took a winding route through the warren-like town. The rough sandstone hewn into a maze of alleyways between shops and homes. Nicky knew that you could purchase land in the game, and he was sorely tempted. Your cooking skill could only go so far when limited to campfires and public town kitchens. The last time he’d been in Alexandria he’d coveted the beautiful kitchenware on sale with a sigh.

Unfortunately for Nicky he hadn’t chosen very profitable jobs and it would take a while to build up his wealth doing quests and selling rare items. Owning his own home in-game would take a while.

He managed to find his way to the tavern where DeNile would be waiting for him and he opened the door, furtively looking up and down the winding street, relaxing when he saw no sign of his new nemesis. He pushed the door open with a sigh of relief.

“Nico!”

Nicky turned his head to the table by the fire and smiled. DeNile was waiting for him, two mugs sitting on the table as she smiled back and waved her hand. Nicky swerved between the crowded tables to go and greet her.

She was wearing the same equipment that he’d last spotted her in. A magnificent cloth-of-gold cloak was covering her silverite armor and shining white tunic underneath. Nicky supposed he might have gone into tailoring like DeNile if he’d been so inclined, but he couldn’t bring himself to regret choosing cooking instead.

“DeNile,” he said when he reached her, leaning down to kiss her on each cheek before taking the seat across from her.

“Nico,” DeNile said with a laugh. “It took you long enough.”

“Er, well,” Nicky sputtered and then sighed. “It’s a long story.”

“Oh?” she said with a brow arched. “Well, I like a good story, and I have some time.”

She picked up her mug and saluted him before taking a drink. Nicky chuckled and did the same, humming with pleasure as the cool, fizzy taste of cider met his lips.

“It all started a few weeks ago…” Nicky began, and the whole story of the dungeon boss incident in Haki Haki unfolded. He went on to describe the second encounter and DeNile’s eyes only grew wider and wider the longer he spoke.

“…wow,” she said before taking another thoughtful sip of cider. “That’s… well, that’s actually kind of funny.”

“DeNile,” Nicky sighed.

“I mean, come on, Nico, if it wasn’t happening to you?” DeNile teased him with a laugh. She quieted down thoughtfully after a moment though. “It is a little weird… though they probably mistook you for someone else.”

“That’s probable,” Nicky conceded. It was the only thing that made sense really. There had been no other reason for the man and his sister to attack him without provocation like that otherwise. “I think the man has his own reasons to hate me now though.”

“It’s a big game,” DeNile said with a shrug. “I mean, it’s weird that you met each other today. What are the chances that it’ll happen again?”

Nicky pursed his lips and took another sip of his cider. Knowing his luck, he would meet that unpleasant man sooner rather than later.

~~~~~

As Booker broke into a fit of laughter for the third time, all Joe could think was that he needed new friends.

“Are you quite finished?” Joe asked testily as he crossed his arms.

The two of them were sitting in one of the public parks in Alexandria. The parks there were wonderous, filled with twisting architecture and exotic plant-life that would have been impossible to see in the real world. Unfortunately, the beauty of it was thoroughly ruined by his friend’s mockery.

“I’m sorry,” Booker choked out an apology as he wiped non-existent tears from his eyes. “But only you. That was one of the most ridiculous things I’ve ever heard.”

“Oh?” Joe said dangerously. “You think my sister being corpse camped and then stalked by one of the most honorless guilds in the game is funny? That the man stalking me and then killing me in a public square is funny too?”

“I mean, it sounds like you just ran into each other by accident,” Booker pointed out. “But yeah, the stuff with your sister sounds a little shady. Not sure what he would be doing in a beginner dungeon otherwise if he was able to kill you in a duel that easily.”

“Easily?” Joe sputtered. “It wasn’t… shut up, Booker.”

“It sounds like he managed to get you off guard,” Booker pointed out. “Not exactly a good showing on your part, Tayyib.”

Joe scoffed, glaring into the distance. A gentle southern breeze blew through the park, the artificial trees rustled in the wind, and the scent of pines and sweet blossoms drifted past them. Joe sighed after a moment, closing his eyes, and tilting his head back as he felt the sun on his face and the wind blow through his hair. It was so strange to be in a game so realistic, knowing that it was real to his senses, but not real in truth.

It reminded him of the stranger he kept running into. The other player had attempted to murder his sister and _had_ murdered Joe, but at the same time, they were both alive and unharmed. It was odd to marry the two ideas together, and though Joe knew he shouldn’t get this worked up about a video game, he couldn’t help the annoyance and indignation bubbling up within him.

“Well, whatever,” Joe sighed, as he lifted a hand to rub his eyes. “It probably was just a chance meeting. I suppose I should just let it go.”

“That’s the spirit,” Booker said with good humor as he patted Joe on the back. “You know, you should really join my guild. Andromache and Queen would love to have you.”

“This again?” Joe asked with a smile as he opened his eyes and looked at his friend.

Booker shrugged his shoulders, the metal armor he wore clinking together as he did so. Though officially a Bombardier, Booker’s main weapon was a Lance; Enchanting and Engineering were his job classes. It made for an interesting combination, more suited for support, but it also made him a massively versatile player. The few times he had teamed up with Booker, it had been a mess of fire and explosions, though Joe had to admit he’d enjoyed the chaos. 

“Maybe this time you’ll change your mind,” Booker said with a small smile. “We could always use an alchemist.”

“Maybe,” Joe conceded. “But not yet.”

“Maybe when you run into that player again and decide you need reinforcements,” Booker suggested as he leaned back on the bench they shared, his armor scraping against it and making the most awful noise.

The scaled armor embedded into the thick leather tunic was ugly and Joe wished that Booker would allow him to make him something better, but Booker claimed that each bit of metal had a purpose. And that the small trinkets hanging from his belt and the ones looped around his neck like a gaudy necklace all had a purpose. Joe knew no other Bombadiers, Enchanters, or Engineers (never mind a combination of all three), so he would take him at his word.

“I’ll let you know if I want to join, Booker,” Joe said with a roll of his eyes as he jumped to his feet.

“Fine, fine,” Booker conceded. “Happy questing by your lonesome then. Try not to get killed in a duel by your stalker.”

“Thank you,” Joe said sarcastically. “Tell my sister to come meet up with me after you guys finish your quest.”

“Will do,” Booker said with some amusement. 

Joe had only met Booker through Shamya, not being a particularly social person in game with anyone who wasn’t his sister. But when he’d reluctantly gone on a dungeon raid with Booker and Shamya a few levels back (both Booker and his sister had been level 40 at the time, and he level 20), he’d struck up an odd friendship with the other man.

“Where is she dragging you off to anyway?” Joe asked curiously, wondering what quest a person who was level 12 and level 40 could do together.

“It’s a stealth quest,” Booker shrugged. “There shouldn’t be any combat, just requires a master thief and an enchanter, so we should be fine. I’ll be handling any combat that pops up though since the recommended level is 30.”

Joe snorted and shook his head. Booker and his sister were both the type of people to stumble into trouble headfirst without thinking about the consequences. He was sure that whatever they were getting themselves into would lead to combat, but Booker would be able to handle it. And if it all went well than his little sister could easily jump up a few levels.

“Good luck,” Joe said, clapping a hand on Booker’s shoulder and stifling a laugh when the man jingled. He wondered how many buffs Shamya had to use on this guy to go on stealth quests with him.

“Thank you,” Booker said graciously. “Where are you headed off to then?”

“I wanted to go to Cuvakel,” Joe said as he opened his world map and double checked his route. “They have some good spots down there to level up Archeology.”

“I’d hope so, it’s nothing but a dank maze of caves,” Booker snorted. “Plenty of places to hide treasure.”

“Artifacts, Book,” Joe corrected with a laugh. “I think there’s some tie-in with the lore for that area. An ancient civilization that predates the Kingdom of Spratia that sunk into a crevice and was buried by volcanic ash.”

“Sure,” Booker said, rolling his eyes. “Is anyone here to actually play the storyline? Is there anyone _alive_ who plays an MMO that is interested in the storyline?”

“I am,” Joe said capriciously. He wasn’t really, but sometimes he liked to make a point.

“Well, you know, exceptions and all that,” Booker said, getting up to his feet as he opened his menu with a flick of his wrist. “Shit, I have to get going.”

“Ha! Yeah, if you keep my sister waiting, she might poison you,” Joe laughed. He wasn’t even lying about that. Shamya had enjoyed unlocking her secondary class skill far too much for comfort. He’d kept her waiting only the once after that.

“I know,” Booker said, waving to him as he ran off. “Talk to you later!”

“Bye,” Joe mumbled under his breath as the other player had already disappeared out of sight. He turned his attention back to his map and sighed.

Cuvakel was the best location for him to go to for Archaeology, but it was one of his least favorite zones. It was dark, cramped, and gloomy; the game creators had seemingly picked a horror theme for the whole map. He would have to take a few quests in the Wild Woods to compensate afterward to get some space and fresh air.

It would take him two teleportations to get there as well, another annoying thing about that particular map. Most areas in the Spratia nation had a direct link to the capital, Alexandria, but some of the more remote locations, such as the cave map Cuvakel, needed a transfer through the sea port, Manti’rak.

Alexandria was located at the very north of the country and most of the teleportation lines branched out and connected to another area directly. The West was Kazindr, the desert map; to the east was Altak, the icy mountains. To the South were the Wild Woods, and south of that was Agnatus, the volcano surrounded by shifting magma fields. Cuvakel was technically located just outside of the Volcano map, but it could only be reached through Manti’rak. The sea port was located on the eastern coast just below the Altak mountain range but above the Haki Haki fields.

It was a longer journey than he would have liked since there was a five-minute wait time between teleports at his current level, but, if he could get a head start on his Archeology job, it would be worth it in the end.

~~~~~

Nicky groaned as he was spat out of the teleportation ring. He knew it wasn’t meant to be unpleasant, but something about being sucked up, dissolved, and then spat out at the other end of a teleportation pad was highly unpleasant to him. Just the idea of it.

He brushed himself off and looked around the seaport of Manti’rak, then opened his menu to look at the list of ingredients he wanted to buy. He’d finally gathered the amount of funds needed to purchase some camp equipment so he could make level 4 recipes. It was about the best thing he could get without using an actual kitchen and he was excited to start using the recipes that had been locked away in his free Alexandrian storage vault for a while now.

He wandered through the port city, smiling as the fresh sea air washed over him. It was nothing like Genoa, but there was something he loved about being seaside. Ever since he’d started university in Florence, he’d been longing for home.

The slate grey sky and the dark churning of the bay was as far as you could get from Genoa in the spring, but still, it made him feel at peace. Especially since he’d gotten a call from his mother the other day about coming home. Something he didn’t feel ready for just yet. He didn’t think he could see his father again for at least a few more months, so that probably meant he was going to be stuck in Florence even during his summer break.

“Okay, so the shop I need should be just outside the main square,” Nicky mumbled to himself as he walked along the wooden boardwalk with his head glued to the city map. He dodged and swerved his way around the other players as best he could, but he really had a terrible sense of direction, and he’d never been to Manti’rak before.

The boardwalk he was on had a long pier stretching out into the distance. Several ships were docked, and Nicky was vaguely aware that players could travel to the other country in Eratus, Krakatos, when they reached level 40.

 _Might be interesting to explore later,_ Nicky thought to himself as he looked on curiously as players chatted on deck. _Just to go for a ride on the open water. I wonder…_

Nicky had been staring too intently at the ships, and since he hadn’t been watching where he was going, he bumped straight into another player.

“I’m so sorry!” Nicky apologized frantically, feeling like a fool as he grabbed the other person, pulling them up straight as they stumbled.

“No, it’s alright,” the other player, a man, said as he brushed off his clothes.

Nicky paused, looking at the bright yellow suns embroidered onto the man’s tunic and the burnished bronze of his armor and startled. He glanced up to look at the man’s face.

“What the…” Nicky whispered to himself as he caught the dark, intense gaze of the man he had killed in Kazindr and who had killed him in Haki Haki not too long ago. How did he keep running into him? What were the odds?

“ _You_ ,” the man growled, his expression thunderous as he grabbed the edges of Nicky’s cloak. Nicky was pulled up onto his toes as the man raised him above his head and shook him.

Nicky choked, grabbing onto the other man’s forearms, gripping them tightly and trying to break the hold on him.

“Why are you following me, you cretin?” the man hissed.

“I’m not!” Nicky insisted. “You killed me first!”

“Don’t act like the injured party here,” the other man spat before throwing Nicky to the ground. “We need a rematch. Draw your sword.”

Nicky picked himself up slowly, watching the other man warily as he grit his teeth in frustration. He’d thought their quarrel was done, or at the very least thought they would never see each other again, but it looked like he was in for a rematch.

“No,” Nicky said as he turned, running as fast as he could in the other direction.

“Coward!” the man shouted after him, and Nicky could hear the other’s armor clinking together as he chased him.

 _Why me?_ Nicky thought to himself as he led the man away from the boardwalk and into one of the side streets. _All I did was try to help his sister…. He has to have mistaken me for someone else. It just doesn’t make sense otherwise…_


	4. Impossible Circumstances

“Get back here!” Joe yelled as he followed close behind the other player, the man’s dark grey cloak flapping in the wind as he led him on a chase through Manti’rak’s dark alleyways.

What were the odds? Honestly, what were the chances that he would meet up with this man a second time? It seemed improbable, impossible even, but here he was, chasing down this cowardly snake of a man when he should have been teleporting to Cuvalas instead.

“Damn it,” Joe cursed, watching his stamina bar go down, but the man in front of him seemed tireless. Perhaps he had used a buff without him noticing. He certainly hadn’t managed to use scan on the man, even after all their encounters, so he had no idea what his class was.

Just when Joe was about to give up, the man stopped in a clearing, just on the edges of the port town. It was a wide cobble stone courtyard, and the surrounding houses were obviously vacant decoration, all of them had identical white plaster walls and dark timber roofing. None had the usual customizations that a player would attach to them nor did they have the distinct look of a major tavern, auction house or trading post.

“I didn’t want to be interrupted again,” the man said as he drew his sword. “I don’t know what you have against me, asshole, but if you want a fight, I’ll give you one.”

Joe narrowed his eyes with suspicion as the other man cast some sort of buff on himself, the golden glow lighting up his drab figure for a moment. His avatar truly was dreary looking. Nothing but grey, brown, and black. The only splash of color was his terrible sash and his hateful eyes.

“Your name,” Joe demanded as he drew his sword, applying his own buffs as he went. His sword crackled with lightning, and the sole of his shoes felt light enough to fly as his alchemy-spells activated.

“What?” the man asked rather stupidly, Joe thought.

“I said, your name,” Joe demanded again as he jabbed his scimitar at the other player.

“Nico,” he said, his eyes wary as he held his sword defensively in front of him. Anger bubbled up in response to the false meekness.

“Fuck you, Nico,” Joe said shortly.

“Well, what’s your name?” Nico asked in return, a frown pulling at the corners of his mouth.

“Tayyib,” Joe responded.

“Fuck you, Tayyib,” Nico said, and then he lunged.

Joe grunted but was satisfied when Nico’s blade was thrown to the side by the shock of electricity. Joe stepped swiftly to his opponent’s left and kicked Nico in the flank as hard as he could.

The other man stumbled but didn’t fall over. Joe thought with disappointment that he should have put more points into his strength stats the last time he leveled up instead of pouring them all into agility.

Nico turned, longsword sweeping toward him, but he knocked it aside once again. This time, Joe startled and winced as a shock bounced back and hit him. His enemy must have used some sort of ability to deflect his attack, but Joe watched with satisfaction as Nicky’s hands shook, the aftereffects of the electricity still disabling him a little.

“Why,” Nico grunted as their swords met again and again. “Are. You. Doing. This.”

Joe growled as the number of electric shocks allowed by the spell ran out. His haste spell would continue, but that wasn’t guaranteed to stay activated longer than five minutes. Which meant that he had to end this quickly.

“You know why!” Joe shouted. “Don’t play dumb.”

He selected a spell, frustration building as he was forced to wait ten seconds for it to load, but he was satisfied when he managed to shoot a blast of fire straight into Nico’s dumb, sallow face when he was in range.

“Argh,” Nico shouted, wheeling backward wildly, his free arm flapping out in front of him. Joe smirked as the blindness and confusion effect stunned his enemy, and he moved forward swiftly, stabbing the other man straight through the stomach.

Nico choked but managed to stumble back, forcing Joe to pull his sword from the other as he went. Joe lunged again, swinging his sword so he could stab the other man in the neck through the gap in his armor.

Nico just barely managed to knock his sword away as he regained his equilibrium. His opponent was breathing heavily, and his hands were shaking as he pointed his sword directly at Joe in warning.

 _Stamina bar must be low… and the electric shock is still in effect, that’s good,_ Joe thought with satisfaction. He still had a minute on his haste spell so he flew forward again, quicker than his opponent could react and then he plunged his sword into Nico’s chest.

“Gotcha,” Joe said, eyes locked onto that incandescent blue, watching as the light left his opponent’s eyes.

Joe let Nico’s body drop to the ground, and he sheathed his sword. He sighed, wiping at his forehead as he stared down at the limp body, the grey cloak covering the avatar almost entirely from his view.

He decided to hurry away before the other could revive, he’d already delayed his journey long enough and he didn’t particularly want to duel this man all day. Hopefully this would be the time they never ran into each other ever again.

~~~~~

Nicky revived with a gasp, his head whipping back and forth as he searched fruitlessly for the other man. For Tayyib. He hadn’t cared before. He was just a strange player who had some sort of mistaken vendetta against him. But now that he had been attacked by him three times and killed twice… it tested even Nicky’s normally even temper.

He shot to his feet as quickly as he could and ran for the main square. If he was very lucky, he might be able to ask a bystander where Tayyib had gone. He was lucky that the man was flashy and easy to pick out in a crowd, especially in a town as drab and gloomy as this one.

He zipped along the backstreets, map open as he charted the quickest course to his destination, desperation driving him. He skidded into the town center, a large square suddenly opening up in front of him. Several market stalls were selling goods along the edges while in the center sat three teleportation rings.

Several players were milling about, clearly waiting for the teleportation cooldown as they traveled from one end of the continent to the other. Nico was about to go up to a group of players to ask them whether or not they’d seen his new enemy when a flash of gold sparkled out of the corner of his eye.

He turned his head to the closest teleportation ring and broke out into a sprint. The man stepped into the large oval ring of shimmering air, but Nicky clearly managed to hear Tayyib say “Teleport Cuvalas” before disappearing.

Nicky skidded to a stop as he examined the teleportation ring, ignoring the startled glances he received from the surrounding players. He would need to buy the right teleportation crystal… Cuvalas was an expensive area, but Nicky couldn’t leave it like this. He didn’t know what this man wanted from him, but he didn’t want to be killed again like he had today. Otherwise, he would keep losing levels, unable to advance his holy magic or to unlock his Potioneering.

There were a few things he needed to make and a few buffs he would need to apply first since he was at a disadvantage now. One level less would make his task harder than before, but it wouldn’t matter if he had the element of surprise. He hurried off to make his purchases.

~~~~~

Luckily, it had only taken Nicky about 10 minutes to collect everything he needed. He had even managed to find a high-level Shaman in the town square and pay him to apply a 15 minute few buffs. It meant he would need to find the other man and end the duel as quickly as he could.

Nicky made good use of the Haste buff and flitted about Cuvalas, ignoring the oppressive damp heat of the claustrophobic tunnels and following the main path. Nicky supposed that the other man must be an Archeologist like DeNile if he had met him at Kazindr and if he was going to Cuvalas. He remembered DeNile complaining about the strict requirements the last time they met up.

Now if only he could… there! Nicky’s eyes narrowed as he caught sight of a dull gleam of gold in the darkness. His enhanced Sense ability and the distinctive shape of the golden tunic and bronze armor becoming more apparent to him as he focused.

Nicky drew his blade and gave himself a Holy Wrath Boost before moving as fast as he could. He eyed the Haste Boost slowly ticking down to zero out of the corner of his vision.

The other man barely had time to shout as Nicky engaged him, stabbing him from behind before jumping back and then slashing at his flank.

“Asshole-“ Tayyib yelled as he pulled his scimitar out, an enchantment on his lips as Nicky dived again, slashing and hacking and barely giving him a chance to retaliate.

Nicky struck the final blow through the man’s chest, his eyes burning as he caught the other man’s gaze. He pulled his sword out with a sigh when Tayyib finally died, feeling the multiple buffs he’d managed to acquire fade away at the same time.

The man’s avatar dropped lifelessly to the ground and Nicky turned to leave, not wanting to lose another level if the man managed to revive and attack him before he could escape. There were only so many levels he was willing to lose in such a short amount of time.


	5. The Old Guard

Several months had passed and Joe was still dealing with the menace, that dastardly bastard Nico who was so cowardly that he would attack him unawares and from behind in a cave. That meeting had unfortunately _not_ been their last, and it was a miracle that either of them managed to gain any levels at all with how often they killed each other. They managed to stay well matched at least, neither one of them had killed the other twice in a row and gained a greater advantage just yet.

Booker and his sister were completely baffled by the vendetta and the constant duels.

“Why are you confused?” Joe demanded as they met up in a new café, the Sword and Stone, in Alexandria. “This man tried to kill you in a dungeon when you were still level 8.”

“He didn’t try that hard to be honest,” Shamya said as she took a sip from her obscenely overpriced coffee. “And you did stab him in the back first.”

“It was in your defense,” Joe said stubbornly. Shamya only shrugged in response.

She had already surpassed him once more in level, a respectable level thirty-five to Joe’s level thirty-one. Shamya had teased him when she passed him, but Joe had just told her to stop playing video games so much, since it was clearly rotting her brain.

“He isn’t even in that guild anymore,” Shamya pointed out. “You said last time you saw him his allegiance sash was blank.”

“And?” Joe retorted as he picked up his espresso and sipped it. “They probably kicked him out for being an asshole.”

Shamya shook her head but left him to it. Booker on the other hand was trying more than ever to get Joe to join his guild, and he was finally tempted. Mostly so that he would have more resources to hunt Nico down and force him from the game for good. Perhaps if he were corpse camped like his sister than the other man would finally relent and leave him alone.

~~~~~

“I can’t stand him,” Nicky seethed to DeNile. He took a picnic basket out of his inventory and laid it onto the blanket they were sitting on. “The foul-mouthed fiend has plagued me for too long.”

“Yeah, you could have been level fifty by now,” DeNile said dryly as she made grabby hands for the food. Nicky placed a lovingly wrapped sandwich in her hands before unwrapping his own and taking an angry bite.

“I remember you saying that it was probably because of your guild though,” DeNile pointed out around a mouthful of sandwich. “You left it yourself when you found out they were griefing other players and extorting them for rare items.”

“That’s not the point,” Nicky dismissed. “He’s harassed me longer than I could excuse if that was his only reason. That man is insane. He hates me, and he won’t stop until I quit the game entirely, I just know it. But I’m not going to give him the satisfaction.”

“Uh huh,” DeNile said as she continued eating her sandwich. It was extremely delicious, and she told Nicky so.

“Thank you,” Nicky said to her, feeling pleased and genuinely touched, even in the face of his irritation. “I managed to come across a rare creature in Cuvalas, a Tonton actually, and it dropped an A-class ingredient. It’d probably taste better if all the other ingredients were at least B-class, and I had access to a kitchen, but-“

“Nico,” DeNile cut him off with a smile. “It’s wonderful. I’m sure if you had access to an actual kitchen and some better ingredients, you’d blow my mind.”

Nicky laughed, accepting the compliment, and finally eating his own food.

“You know…” DeNile said thoughtfully as she moved onto one of the side dishes Nicky had packed, a lovely salad of sun-ripe tomatoes, soft cheese and green olives. “If you joined my guild, you could use the kitchen in the Alexandria guild house.”

“Oh, I didn’t know you were in a guild, DeNile,” Nicky said with surprise. She didn’t wear any of the usual displays of allegiance.

“It’s a recent thing,” she said with a laugh. “I only joined about a week ago, and the guild is kind of new too.”

“But they already have a guild house?” Nicky asked, thinking about the price tag attached to that venture. MERRICK had a guild house, but not one that was open to anyone lower than level 50 because of the limited space.

“Well, the guild was originally just Andromache and her wife, Queen,” DeNile explained. “They’re IRL wives too, I think. Anyway, they’ve been playing for a while and decided to make a guild that was just them and a few friends. Though they’ve recently opened recruitment.”

“Any reason why now?” Nicky asked curiously.

“For the next tournament,” DeNile said with a grin. “They want to get together a small elite group to take it on. When they explain it you, it makes sense. It’s better to have a cohesive team than just collecting a bunch of high-level assholes that don’t know how to work together. I think it’ll be fun too.”

“The next tournament?” Nicky repeated with some alarm. “The only ones who enter those are the top guilds and they have hundreds of players at their disposal. How many do they plan on recruiting?”

“Uh, if you join?” DeNile said thoughtfully. “And if the guy Booker recommended joins… about six.”

“…six,” Nicky said with disbelief.

“Well, there used to be another guy, but I think IRL stuff is getting in the way, so he left the guild,” DeNile said with a shrug. “I think he’s friends with the Guild Leaders IRL too.”

“Huh,” Nicky said thoughtfully. He wasn’t sure how ready he was to dive back into another guild, but he knew DeNile and trusted her judgement. “Well, it can’t hurt to meet with them.”

“Yes!” DeNile yelled, she threw up her hands in delight. “You need to bake me something as soon as you join okay?”

Nicky laughed and nodded his head in agreement. It had taken him by surprise but the more he thought about the idea, the more he liked it. He would finally have access to a kitchen, and he would have an actual support system instead of guild full of selfish assholes. Perhaps spending time with higher level players and going on quests with them would also help distract him from the ridiculous feud he had going on with Tayyib. Yes, it was for the best. If he was lucky, he would forget the other man soon enough, and hopefully his nemesis would do the same.

~~~~~

Joe walked with Booker to The Old Guard Guild House, gazing with amazement at the neighborhood the two Guild Leaders had managed to build their home in. It was in the West District, highly fashionable and extremely expensive, Joe had never imagined he would ever have a reason to come here.

They finally stopped in front of a house that was a little smaller than the ones surrounding it, but not by much. The warm, red-brown stone it was made from was the same as all the other houses on the block, but it’s dark blue roof and shutters, the welcoming bright red door, and charming collection of potted plants distinguished it from the rest.

And thought it was smaller than many of the other buildings, the two-story guild house was much larger than he would have expected for a group as small as The Old Guard was reported to be. Booker had said that they were currently only four members, but they hoped they would grow by two if Joe and one other agreed to join today.

Booker hopped up the dark stone stairs leading up to the house and knocked politely before opening the door. Joe supposed that any of the guild members had permission to enter at any time. The thought warmed him a little. His own goals so far had been to build his own home and wander the game as he pleased, exploring the many mysteries the game had to offer by himself, but the thought of having a place to share with a group of friends was also…strangely appealing. Hopefully, the meeting today went well.

He followed behind Booker cautiously, poking his head through the door. He looked left and saw a large living room; the plush red couches and armchairs looked warm and inviting. There was a large fireplace at the far end of the room and most of the furniture was arranged around it. The floors were a warm hardwood with the occasional plush rug thrown here and there. Interesting artifacts and paintings hung on the walls, and Joe looked at them with curiosity, wondering where they could have gotten them in game.

“Over here!” Booker’s voice called, and Joe turned his head to the right instead. There was a short hallway and Joe walked down it until he arrived at the kitchen. This room was just as beautiful and inviting as the first. The floor tiles were a dark blue, similar to the color of the roof and shutters, but the cabinets were a warm brown. The rest of the kitchen had dark stone countertops, wooden furniture and various pots and pans hanging from the ceiling and lining the walls.

Joe was so busy looking curiously around the room that he hardly paid any attention to the people in it. A sharp gasp drew his attention to the kitchen table on the far side of the room, and he soon realized that he had made a mistake by coming here.

“You!” he yelled, automatically unsheathing his sword, and the other man, his greatest enemy, stood up and did the same.

There was a great commotion as Joe tried to lunge for the other man, but he had to maneuver around the island countertop to get to him. Nico, the villain, met him halfway, and so their battle took place between the counter and the wood stove as they tried their best to stab each other to death. Shockingly, they weren’t very successful and soon a hand at the back of his robes pulled him away from his nemesis.

“What exactly is going on here?” A stern feminine voice said from behind him.

Joe glared at the other man who was currently being restrained by Booker’s strong grasp. His friend looked startled, his wide eyes glancing between Nico and Joe in confusion. He was tempted to take another lunge at his enemy regardless, but the tightening grip on his tunic discouraged that idea. Joe finally turned to look at the person holding him and was met with a stern, icy blue gaze.

It was a very tall woman, dressed in casual clothing and her dark hair cut short. Joe felt flushed with embarrassment when he realized that this must be one of the Guild Leaders.

“This man has been attacking me for weeks!” Nico exclaimed from the other side of the room. He had let Booker draw him back further, and he was leaning against the kitchen table, his sword still drawn and a wary eye still watching Joe’s figure. “He’s been harassing me non-stop.”

“Liar!” Joe cried, trying to move toward him, though he was stopped by the grip on his robe once more. “You and your guild started it! You attacked my sister when she was level 8! And then you killed me in Kazindr village, and then again when I went to Cuvalas. You stabbed me in the back even!”

“You stabbed me in the back first,” Nico countered, clearly growing more and more angry. “And I never did anything to your sister.”

“Yes, you did!” Joe accused him, struggling to get at him again, his anger burning brighter at the thought of the Haki Haki dungeon. “You were fighting her!”

“She was fighting me!” Nico argued back.

“Enough!” the woman said again. “Stop it, the two of you.”

They both quieted, but they stared at each other sullenly, not willing to risk their host’s ire, but by no means were they ready to back down.

“Well, this is a surprise,” another female voice said from the table.

Joe glanced over and caught sight of two other women. One was pale and deadly looking, dressed from head to toe in dark red, her hair twisted into an effortlessly elegant hairdo. If Joe had to guess, this was the other Guild Leader. The other, a startled-looking young woman, was dressed head-to-toe in gleaming white armor which contrasted beautifully with her smooth dark skin. Another Paladin if Joe had to guess.

“Let’s go into the living room, Andy,” the woman in red said, glancing pointedly at the other Guild Leader. A moment later and Joe was being hauled away and firmly placed onto a very comfortable sofa while Nico was settled onto a loveseat across from him.

The tall striking woman who had manhandled Joe now stood in the middle of the room, glancing between the two of them with a severe but thoughtful expression on her face.

“This wasn’t the welcome I was expecting to give two potential new members,” Andy said, her hands on her hips as she considered them. Her loose, sleeveless tunic was tucked into a pair of tight breeches, and Joe would have said she looked entirely intimidating but for the soft white fuzzy slippers on her feet ruining the effect… though only somewhat. The expression she wore was foreboding, and if what Booker had hinted at was true, this woman was probably over level 60, maybe even 70, which was more than double Joe’s own.

“Nico, tell us your side of the story first,” Andy said after a moment. Joe must have looked indignant, or had made some other expression, because she looked at him sharply and said, “He was here first. Now, go on. We don’t have all day.”

“Right,” Nico said after a moment. “Um… well, it started a few weeks ago. I was in Haki Haki collecting ingredients for my Potioneering quests. Some things I needed to collect from the nearby dungeon, and I came across a single player, a Rogue, who was calling out for help. They were fighting the dungeon boss and losing badly. I went to help them, but they started to attack me, and when I was about to escape, _he_ came from behind me and stabbed me in the back.”

“That’s not true!” Joe shouted, before he was silenced by a warning look.

“Go on,” she said, speaking to Nico who was glancing nervously at the two of them.

“Um, well, then I was traveling to Kazindr village, I was meeting up with DeNile actually,” Nico said, pointing to the white-clad Paladin. “There was a pretty bad desert storm, and I held the gates open for a stranger, which turned out to be him. When we recognized each other, he attacked me… I killed him that time though.”

“We attacked each other,” Joe muttered under his breath, ignoring the look sent his way again.

“Then after that, I met him in the port city. We caught sight of each other, and then he killed me in that duel. I, um, bought some buffs and went after him in Cuvalas… and killed him there,” Nico admitted sheepishly, apparently realizing that he wasn’t the perfect victim he had originally been trying to make himself out to be. “After that, we just kept running into each other.”

“Right,” Andy said with a brisk nod when Nico was silent after a moment, his side fully shared. She looked to Joe next and raised a brow at him expectedly.

Joe clicked his jaw in annoyance, wondering whether he should even bother or if he should just get up and leave. The pleading look on Booker’s face when he glanced at his friend convinced him otherwise, however. Joe sighed.

“I started playing the game because of my sister,” Joe said, his tone flat and devoid of feeling. He stared at the empty fireplace rather than anyone else in the room. “She’s a much higher level than me, or she was until she had a run in with this asshole’s old guild. They corpse camped her because she took an item they wanted. I was accompanying her in Haki Haki, just in case one of those assholes came back to do it again, and then she called for her help during her dungeon raid.

“When I walked into the cave, all I saw was this guy,” Joe paused to look pointedly at Nico. “And his sword pointed at my sister while she called for my help. So yeah, I killed him, grabbed her and then ran.”

“And in Kazindr?” Andy prompted him when he didn’t continue after that. Joe raised an eyebrow at her in return, not liking her arch tone.

“Yes?” Joe said testily. “We attacked each other, I lost. We attacked each other in the port city, he lost. Then he stalked me to the next zone and attacked me from behind like a coward.”

“Fuck you,” Nico spat at him, the other man was visibly flustered at his accusation.

“No, fuck you,” Joe countered.

“Enough,” Andy said again, and she sighed. “I believe both of you, your stories line up even if you’ve both assumed the worst of each other. Nico, I know you used to be a part of MERRICK. I think by now we’re all aware of their… less than savory playing practices. Did you ever participate in corpse camping players? Or were you aware of it?”

“No,” Nico said fiercely. “They were the guild I joined when I started the game, and they don’t include the new players in any of the higher-level events. I had no idea how horrible they were until after I reached level 25.”

Joe felt a little uneasy at that. He hadn’t known that MERRICK accepted new players into their guild and then kept them in the dark. Regardless, he didn’t regret trusting his sister when she called for his help. And Nico had shown his cowardly colors well enough in Cuvalas.

“And Joe,” Andy moved on to him. “This all started because you were helping your sister and you thought Nicky had been attacking her?”

“Yes,” Joe said. “He only stopped wearing MERRICK colors the last few times I saw him. Though at that point, I had my own reasons to continue fighting him.”

“At first I thought that he was just a man who mistook me for someone else and was trying to protect his sister,” Nico said hotly, his temper clearly flaring, and his face pinched in displeasure. “But then I realized the man was completely unreasonable and determined to harass me every chance he got.”

Andy pressed a hand against her eyes, and she let out her longest sigh yet. Booker, from his spot next to the Paladin, glanced between Joe and Nico, looking bewildered and unsure of what to believe. From the sound of it, the Paladin was Nico’s confidant, and she looked as if she was attempting to dissect both Joe and Nico, trying to figure out how to piece the story together now that she had both sides.

“Well, even though you were both recommended by members of our guild, I’m not sure we can invite either one of you in, as it is,” the other guild leader, Queen, said. “Perhaps a trial period, my love?”

“That might work,” Andy said as she looked at the two of them thoughtfully. “Alright. The two of you will go on quests together each day with an escort for your trial period. First one to start a fight will not be invited to join us. But if the two of you can prove that you can work together, you’ll both be invited to stay. Granted you can keep the peace.”

Nico and Joe said nothing in response to the proposal, both glaring intently at the other as they weighed their options.

“Do you agree,” Andy’s voice demanded an answer this time, and they both snapped to attention. Joe reluctantly nodded first.

He was sorely tempted to wash his hands of the whole thing, but he didn’t want to prove Nico right. He would show them all that Nico was a violent thug and that Joe had been justified each and every time he had killed the other man. Nico, he could tell, felt the same way. He stared at Joe for a moment longer, wordlessly accepting the challenge before he turned to Andy and nodded his head in agreement.

“How long is the trial period?” Nico asked, his voice soft in a way that made Joe irrationally angry.

“As long as it needs to be,” Andy said. “Now get out of my house. Booker and DeNile will tell you where to meet up. Don’t fight or kill each other on the way out.”

Joe got up stiffly and sped to the door, not bothering to look at any of the others. He heard Nico get up after him, heard him mumble something before following after him.

He stopped after he’d stomped down the front steps, standing by the street before turning to look at his enemy. Nico paused in the middle of the stairs, his foot hovering for a moment before he scoffed and continued walking.

“I’ll see you tomorrow then,” Nico said, looking down the street and avoiding Joe’s gaze like the coward he was.

“Unfortunately, yes,” Joe said calmly in return. “I’m eager to expose you for the asshole you are.”

Nico scowled and shot him a dirty look.

“We had a misunderstanding at first,” Nico said to him, his face placid once more though the dark circles under his eyes and the unnaturally pale complexion gave him a grim rather than a peaceful countenance. “But you were the one to escalate the matter beyond reason.”

“No, I didn’t,” Joe argued, his hand twitching for his sword, but he resisted. There was just something about this man, in his looks or in his manner that simply screamed ‘Stab me!’ to Joe.

“Fuck you,” Nico shot back, anger rising above the calm surface for a moment before settling back down. “Either way, I think it fair that _you_ prove yourself to be the biggest asshole once and for all.”

“Tomorrow then,” Joe snorted, before spinning on his heel and marching away. He would prove his worth to the others, and prove Nico to be the cowardly, conniving rat of a human being that he was at the same time. And he would be looking forward to it.


	6. Making Friends

Nicky shivered as he leaned against a pillar in the town square of Revjak. He hated traveling to Altak, the Frost Zone. It was cold, of course, though admittedly the cold wasn’t as harsh as it would have been in real life. Every unpleasant sensation was subdued in game, whether it was cold, heat, or pain. Still, Nicky continued to shiver, imagining he could feel the damp get into his boots and wished that DeNile had told him to meet up with Tayyib in any other area.

He shrunk back when he caught sight of the man in question, the gold glint of his gaudy tunic and the bright orange glow of his scaled armor was extremely noticeable in the stark black and white of their surroundings. Nicky watched, shrouded in shadow as the man glanced up at the mountains and smiled. Of course he liked it here.

He watched as Queen, the Guild Leader he had met the day before, emerged from the portal behind Tayyib. She was dressed in a dark red cloak, a belt sinching the flowing fabric tightly to her waist and a cloth hood hiding her hair. Nicky realized, when he caught sight of her tool belt and her bow, that she must be a Rogue. He also realized that the two of them were waiting for _him_ now and that it was time to face the music.

“Hello,” Nicky said, walking up behind Joe and watching with satisfaction as the other man startled.

“Good, you’re here,” Queen said, looking Nicky up and down before nodding sharply. “You’ll both accept a mission in the area, doesn’t matter which one, and work together to finish it. I’ll be tailing you, but pretend like I’m not here, I won’t be helping you unless it’s an emergency.”

“What sort of emergency were you imagining?” Tayyib asked curiously.

“If you’re attacked by any hostile players that are above your skill level,” Queen said shortly, but with a little smile that looked sharp rather than reassuring. “Rare, but it has been happening. More of the high-level guilds have been getting vicious with the low-level players.”

“Is that really why you’ve been recruiting?” Nicky asked her, head tilted to the side as he wondered what Andy and Queen were planning.

“Could be,” Queen said with a more genuine smile this time, but she motioned for them to move out into the town square.

Nicky and Tayyib glanced at each other briefly before turning together and walking side-by-side to the town’s tavern. It was the major hub for trade, information, and NPC quests in Revjak, and Nicky had to admit that it was a cozy building. The outside was as dark and forbidding as the rest of the town’s architecture, but the inside was cavernous. The walls were made of impossibly large logs with intricate designs carved into the wood. There were several large stone fireplaces that had roaring fires any time you arrived, and coupled with row after row of chandelier, the whole room was bright, warm, and cheery.

Tayyib led the way inside, swerving around large, round wooden tables as he headed toward the NPC that gave hunting quests. Those types of quests refreshed every day and were simple enough to do, though the difficulty level varied. Nicky followed him, since he didn’t disagree with his decision, and resigned himself to a long, unpleasant trek through the mountains to hunt down a Snow Couerl or a particularly nasty Supplicorn.

“I’d like the day’s quest please,” Tayyib said, tapping through the agreements as the NPC went through their automated speech about needing help to cull the local pests.

“We need to party up to accept the quest together,” Tayyib said as he looked at the fine print on the Quest Acceptance notification.

Nicky sighed and opened his menu. He figured it would come to this, though he didn’t have much experience with teaming up in general, he knew that for them to take a quest jointly they would need to… friend each other. Nicky sent the request to him quickly and tried not to think too hard about it. He sighed again when Tayyib accepted the request, his player information popping up out of the corner of his vision.

“Okay, so we have to hunt down a level 35 Sabertail,” Tayyib said as he read through the directions. The NPC was still talking, but both ignored it.

“How far?” Nicky asked, a nail picking at the carving in the wooden table next to him as he tried his best not to look in Tayyib’s direction.

“Not too far,” Tayyib said, opening his map and marking the location. “Let’s go.”

Tayyib pushed past Nico, just on the edge of being rude about it, but Nicky shook his head and followed the other man. There was no point in arguing. In fact, as he caught sight of Queen a few meters away from them, he would have to continually remind himself not to rise to any challenges. He could do that; all he had to do was remain calm, placid, and it would all be over soon.

He was convinced that Tayyib would break first anyway, he was always the one to attack him first. He had started this whole mess, so he couldn’t wait for him to be booted from the trial so he could join a nice guild filled with nice people and enjoy the use of their beautiful kitchen. All he had to do was prove he wasn’t a complete asshole. Easy enough…

~~~~~

“Fuck you!” Nicky yelled at the other man as he rolled away from the large Sabertail’s swiping paw. He had never seen one so big and Nicky should have figured it would be a weird version of the creature he normally encountered. It was a special hunting quest after all.

“No, fuck you,” Tayyib yelled in return as he attempted to charge his lightning attack. “Just distract him for a minute, would you? Can you do that or are you completely useless?”

Nicky scowled and managed to raise a Holy Barrier just in time for the next attack. He grunted at the impact of the creature’s teeth and claws against his sword, but luckily, he’d managed to complete the spell and didn’t receive any damage.

Nicky cursed under his breath as he pushed back against the large ugly cat. The white-furred monstrosity was viciously snarling at him as it batted him again and again, yellow eyes rolling wildly in its sockets as it tried to eat him alive.

“I hate it here,” Nicky whispered as he caught his sword on the Sabertail’s paw and pressed his advantage when it hissed in pain and drew back. “I hate it, I hate him, and I should just leave this whole game, and play Pokemon Galaxy Super. Why am I here?”

Nicky kept up his mantra, trying his best to distract the beast and wondering why a minute was taking so long.

“Are you done yet?” Nicky asked, panting as he felt his stamina decreased the longer the Sabertail kept up its constant assault.

“Almost!” Tayyib yelled in return. Nicky swore the man had lied about the loading time just to annoy him, it was impossible that a minute hadn’t passed yet.

He was just about to accuse the other man when a giant wave of electricity hit the large cat and Nicky dove into one of the snowbanks to dodge the attack.

“Yes!” Tayyib yelled from behind him.

Nicky picked his head up, fuming as he turns to see the great cat’s blackened and smoking corpse and the congratulatory message popping up in front of him. He rolled his eyes when he saw that the final kill bonus went to Tayyib but he was fairly pleased to see that he did the most amount of damage. He accepted the congratulations before getting up to walk over to Tayyib. He tried his best to hold his tongue and ignore the smug look of triumph on the other man’s face.

“Let’s head back and hand in the quest,” Nicky said, trying to keep the tension out of his voice.

“Yes, yes,” Tayyib said, waving his hand at Nicky before he accepted his own congratulation message and stared at the beast’s corpse with satisfaction. Nicky rolled his eyes and stomped away from the clearing, trying his best to stop himself from saying something he would regret.

“You know,” Tayyib started conversationally as he jogged to catch up with him. “You make a good cat toy, it was very satisfying to watch you get battered about.”

Nicky shot Tayyib a poisonous look, his suspicions coming back full force at that.

“You made me wait,” Nicky said in a low voice. “That was much longer than a minute.”

“Well, two and a half minutes,” Tayyib said with a grin. “But you handled it admirably.”

“Fuck you, you nearly hit me with your damn spell,” Nicky said, his voice raising as he took a threatening step toward the other player. He stopped when he caught sight of the smug look of satisfaction in the other man’s eyes.

“You were fine,” Tayyib said in that infuriating tone of voice he had. “Got out of the way just in time.”

Nicky said nothing, merely pursing his lips when he realized that he was deliberately being baited. He simply turned and led them down the mountain, stomping his boots as hard as he could, hoping that he would aggro something large enough that could swallow Tayyib in one bite.

~~~~~

The return to the tavern and the completion of their quest was relatively uneventful though Nicky felt a cold fury continue to smolder through him. He wondered if he even wanted to join this guild if there was even the slightest chance of Tayyib joining with him, but then he remembered the only other option was to drop out of the trial period and let Tayyib get his way. The thought of letting that smug bastard get what he wanted was unbearable to him, and he held his tongue.

“Well,” Queen said from behind him, and both Nicky and Tayyib jumped in alarm at her sudden reappearance. They hadn’t noticed her the entire time she had supposedly been tailing them.

“That could have gone better,” Queen continued, ignoring the look of surprise and growing indignation on their faces at the critique.

Nicky couldn’t even disagree with her, but he thought that under the circumstances, working with his greatest enemy, that they had done remarkably well.

“We proved that we could work together and not fight,” Tayyib said. “How many times do we have to do it now?”

“As many times as we tell you too,” Queen said with another one of her curiously sharp smiles. “You can go your own separate ways now; I’ll reach out to you with the next meeting place tomorrow.”

And with that she disappeared into thin air, and Nicky realized that she must have specialized in Assassination.

Assassins were the only Rogues that could become completely invisible, and Queen must be particularly good if she could disappear that quickly. There had been a few Rogues in his old guild, but they could only make themselves transparent, not invisible. He had always been able to spot them if he paid attention, but Queen was at a completely different skill level, he couldn’t catch sight of her anywhere.

Tayyib looked stricken with surprise, and Nicky knew the look on his face must be echoing his own. The other man glanced in his direction and that expression quickly morphed into a scowl. Without a word of goodbye, he turned to the exit and left Nicky behind.

Nicky shook his head in response and walked toward the trading post instead. He might as well search for some interesting ingredients while he was here, there was no way he’d be returning to Altak any time soon if he could help it.

~~~~~

Joe tapped his foot as he waited for Nico and Queen. Well, he assumed Queen would be the one shadowing them again. They were in the Wild Woods this time, by Catalpa Village, and Joe wondered what sort of inane quest they would be doing this time. Not even his favorite location in the game had made working with Nico easier to bear.

He leaned against one of the trees that lined the edge of teleportation clearing, the winding path through the forest to the nearest town was to his left. He looked at it longingly, wishing he could just go off on his own. He had to remind himself that he needed to outlast Nico and prove what an awful person the other man was.

He hoped that the Paladin wouldn’t sneak up on him again like he had last time. The man wasn’t even a Rogue, why did he have to skulk around like one?

Joe perked up when the teleportation ring flashed a bright silver, the sign of an incoming player. He was relieved when it was Queen who arrived. She stepped out of the portal, glancing around until she caught sight of Joe.

“Good, she’s here,” said a voice to his right.

Joe startled and stepped away from the tree he’d been leaning against when he saw Nico just a little way behind him.

“Why?” was all Joe could demand before Queen was in front of them, asking if they were ready to take on another quest together.

“Does it matter what kind we take?” Nico asked as he sent Joe a party-up request. Joe stabbed the accept button sharply as he glowered at the paladin, hoping that he would trip on a tree root on the way into town.

“No,” Queen said with a shrug. “But for your sakes and mine, don’t make it a boring one. I’ll cry if you take on an escort mission or a fetch quest.”

“No chance of that,” Joe snorted.

“I like doing the escort missions,” Nico said with a frown, looking dull and grave with that stern expression on his face. Queen and Joe stared at Nico before quickly sharing a glance, incredulity painted on each of their faces.

“I knew there was a reason I hated you,” Joe said with a sigh. “Let’s get going, I have to meet up with my sister later.”

Nico shrugged and followed behind Joe, Queen trailing behind sedately, her presence a reminder of their purpose.

“I was thinking about taking another hunting quest,” Joe said thoughtfully, trying to remember where the nearest tavern in Catalpa Village was.

“You don’t want to try for some variety?” Nico asked, his brow raised challengingly. “How about one of the dungeon quests? We might as well try to get some interesting items while doing this.”

“And spend an hour or more with you?” Joe snorted, shaking his head. “No thank you.”

“Fine,” Nico said shortly, before he returned to sullen silence. Joe found it annoying, but it was more tolerable than attempting to make small talk with the other man.

The pointed silence continued until they finally made it to the village, the curving path finally revealing the picturesque forest village that was dotted with Catalpa trees, as the name suggested. The stately trees with their giant green leaves and perpetually blooming white flowers gave a floating dreamlike quality to the town. Joe and Nico stood at the top of the hill together, admiring it before they seemed to remember themselves and quickly made their way down the stone path.

All the buildings were made of wood, but unlike the wooden structures in Revjak, the buildings of Catalpa Village were light and airy with elegant, high-arching doorways and windows. They hurried to the NPC in front of the trading post and quickly accepted the next hunting quest. Their target was a level 38 Anakst, a deer-type megafauna that Joe found unnerving. Deer were supposed to be prey animals, not twelve-foot-tall monstrosities with murder in their souls.

“Let me grab a few things before we head off,” Nico said softly. He scurried away before Joe could even say anything in response, so he threw up his hands and went to wait on one of the benches nearby.

“This is going well,” Queen said, dropping down to sit next to Joe and giving him a fright by her sudden appearance. “We weren’t sure if you would be able to work together at all, if I’m being completely honest.”

“We did one quest together,” Joe said, crossing his arms and looking away. “I wouldn’t call us bosom buddies.”

“We’re not asking you guys to be best friends,” Queen said, a hint of laughter in her voice. “You both come highly recommended, however, and we really are looking for dependable people that we can train up in time for the next tournament. We want to _destroy_ the big name Guilds.”

Joe frowned, looking to the ground for a moment as he thought that over. He had never been ambitious exactly, not in real life and not in game, but there was something compelling about taking down big-name guilds like MERRICK with a small elite guild. But he simply wasn’t sure if it was possible. And even if it were, he wasn’t sure they could accomplish it with Nico and Joe together on the same team.

“I…” Joe paused, frowning to himself as he thought about what to say.

“I know you probably don’t think we can do it,” Queen finished for him, her clever eyes twinkling with mirth and her lips curving into a smile a little softer than her usual sharp grin. “But Andy and I think we can, so we will.”

“Are you guys that high level?” Joe asked, curiously. He had never gotten a chance to talk with anyone else in the guild yet.

“We are,” Queen told him confidently, though Joe noticed she didn’t share any details. “But more than that, Andy can lead.”

“…right,” Joe said with a huff of disbelief. “Is that all? What, is she a military commander in real life?”

Queen simply gave him a mysterious smile in return and Joe wondered if he had actually hit the mark. Nico interrupted them soon after, which Joe couldn’t believe he was actually happy about. However, he was eager to end his cryptic conversation with the high-level Rogue and start their quest properly.

~~~~~

“Will you just kill the damn thing!” Joe screamed from where he was taking cover behind a giant tree root. The Anakst was ramming the tree violently; it’s twenty-point antlers were thick, dark, and dripping with toxic poison that Joe fervently hoped didn’t land on him. Both Nico and Joe were still only level thirty-one and the poison of a creature over five levels higher than them was nothing to sneer at. Joe knew that Nicky had some healing powers as a Paladin, though he doubted Nico would be so generous as to help him with any status effects.

Foolishly, he’d only thought to bring potions and had forgotten to equip any antidotes. But he thought he could be excused for the stupidity since normally one didn’t see ‘giant deer’ and think ‘poison’. The game designers were just sadistic.

Nico was using the Anakst’s distraction to hack at the creature’s ankles, the only part that he could reasonably reach, and was making decent headway. The holy attack effect he had was extremely effective against dark creatures which meant that only Nico’s attacks did any significant damage to the thing.

Joe watched, his scan ability active as the monster’s hit points were lowering slowly but steadily. It was more than Joe had been able to manage. They’d found out quickly that magic attacks were useless against the Anakst, and he had taken too much damage every time he attempted to get close enough to use his sword. Unfortunately for Joe, the only plausible way forward was to use himself as bait and let Nico take charge. He couldn’t even complain too much since it was essentially the same thing he had done to Nico with the Sabertail in Altak.

The root above his head began to creak dangerously, and Joe watched nervously as the wood began to splinter, a small shower of bright white pixels floating above him as the game object took damage. He would have to move if Nico didn’t manage to kill it soon…

_Slam. Slam. Crack._

Joe rolled to the side as the root came down, the gigantic rabid deer using its entire body weight to crush the alcove he had been hiding inside.

“Will you hurry up?” Joe yelled as he danced around, casting a spell of speed on himself before dodging another attack, this time a poison spit missile. He got close enough to the Anakst to aggro it, letting Nico whittle away the monster’s HP again.

“Don’t you have any large attacks to hit it with?” Joe complained. “I thought you were a Paladin, where’s your holy spells?”

“Oh, I’ll just let you handle it and go charge a spell across the clearing for five minutes, shall I?” Nico grunted as he attacked faster, his bright silver sword a blur.

Joe scoffed but knew better than to reply. He had only let Nico sweat for an extra thirty seconds…well, an extra minute and thirty seconds. It wasn’t as long as the other man was accusing him of, but afterward, he had regretted it… just a little. Anything less than the very best behavior would not recommend himself well to Queen, and it had been beneath him. He wasn’t sure what it was about Nico, but the other man brought out the worst in him every time.

It was as if he couldn’t think properly whenever they met. And, almost against his will, he said or did the worst thing he could think of, prompting the other man to retaliate in kind. Joe knew he naturally thought more with his heart than with his head, but he thought he’d outgrown his worst habits in grade school, but here he was, starting squabbles with another boy on the playground again.

 _At least I don’t have a crush on this particular boy_ , Joe thought with no little amusement as he weaved and dodged, keeping one step ahead of the Anakst as he thought to himself. The intriguing color of Nico’s eyes notwithstanding, there was nothing else beautiful about Nico’s chosen appearance.

His skin was a touch to pale and waxy looking, his hair dark and limp, his lips thin and bloodless. His nose took up half his face and the general shape of his face was displeasing. There was just something a touch off in every feature, and Joe wondered if Nico had the same features in real life as he did in the game.

The eye color was made up, clearly, but all the rest… he wasn’t ugly, not truly, but there was something completely unharmonious and unsettling about his features. Joe supposed it was the artist in him that was agitated. If they were on better terms, he would have asked if he’d made any adjustments to his base features in the character creation screen and then scold him for botching the job.

“Get out of the way!” Nico called to him, and Joe looked over in his direction, watching as the Paladin glowed briefly, a halo of light surrounding him as he charged his weapon with holy power.

Joe was distracted for a moment too long and he was thrown to the side by the Anakst’s horns. He grunted with the impact, watching with despair as he was infected with the creature’s poison. Luckily, Nico had finished charging his attack and was lunging toward the beast. Joe hoped the Paladin would hurry, he laid still on the ground, winded, as the Anakst was clearly getting ready to attack him again, a poisonous dark cloud pouring from its dark snout.

Joe closed his eyes, still too stunned and drained from the poison effect to move quickly, and he hoped…

His prayers were answered. A rush of wind and he could hear the shattering glass sound effect of a defeated monster. He opened his eyes to see a sparkle of light, Nico’s determined face and the Paladin’s outstretched sword only a few feet away from him. Joe let out an explosive sigh of relief and laid back down on the ground.

“…are you alright?” Nico asked, his reluctance clear in his tone. Joe rolled his eyes and struggled to his feet.

“I’ll be fine when we get into town, and I can purchase an antidote,” Joe said with a frown. He swiped to open his menu, went to his inventory, and frowned again at his lack of foresight. He closed the menu with a sigh and started walking in the direction of the town but stopped when he realized the Nico wasn’t following him.

Nico was silent for a few moments as he glanced at Joe before looking away. He repeated this action a few more times, frustrating and confusing Joe as he waited impatiently for his reluctant partner to start walking back with him. Especially as he was watching his HP points continue to drop every 10 seconds from the poison status effect.

“Well?” Joe asked impatiently. “Are we going or not?”

Nico sighed and his hands glowed golden for a moment, causing Joe to startle and draw his sword. He waited, more confused than ever as Nico simply stood there, glowing hands raised, and his head bowed.

After a moment, the golden glow transferred to him and the poison status vanished. Joe blinked once, then twice, before he dropped his sword arm and saw that not only was he cured of his poison, but he was back up to full health as well.

“Oh,” Joe said, feeling foolish yet again.

“You’re welcome,” Nico said flatly, and just like that Joe felt any genuine gratitude within him dry up completely.

“Thank you,” Joe said sarcastically before sheathing his sword and turning away from Nico to start walking once again, this time not caring whether the Paladin decided to follow him or not.


	7. It Comes To a Point

The next month was a tense one. They did a quest together nearly every day, the only exception being the rare day either one or the other couldn’t log in. Needless to say, Nicky was beginning to grow tired of the company. They had gone on a rare item quest in Agnatus, the Volcanic zone, and had fought a Magnamir together, and it had been a disaster. Both of them were ill equipped to deal with the creature and they’d both been burned and stomped to death by a unicorn made of magma more than once.

Then of course, they got into a disagreement about who should have the item they’d acquired. It was suited for a Priest and neither of them knew anyone they could gift or sell it to directly, but Tayyib wanted to sell it to an NPC trader and Nicky wanted to sell it through the Auction House so that a player could buy it instead. Joe argued that it would take longer that way, and Nicky argued that they could make more money by auctioning it off.

In the end, Quynh had swooped in, rolled her eyes, and said that _she_ would sell it and deposit the funds into the Guild’s bank account as punishment for making her suffer through the stupidest argument she’d ever witnessed.

After that, there was a trip to Cuvalas, which brought back horrible memories for both Nicky and Tayyib. Nicky had grit his teeth and tried not to respond to the constant sharp remarks while he helped the other man with one of his Archeology quests. It had almost been more than he could bear, and Nicky had a feeling that they were both fed up with the arrangement.

Certainly DeNile was fed up with his complaining, and Nicky would bet a good amount of gold that Tayyib was doing the same with his friend, the man who he’s only seen once, but never learned the name of. He certainly wasn’t going to ask Tayyib, and he was too intimidated by Queen’s… everything to ask _her_ any questions.

Whenever Nicky logged in after a grueling day of work and study, he found himself thinking that he didn’t have to make himself miserable in game, he was already miserable enough in his real life. The VR headset did a good job of helping him receive the REM sleep he needed, but he could do just as well playing any other game on the market.

In the end though, Nicky decided that he had grown too attached to his character and to the friends…well, friend he had made while playing. Perhaps he should just give up trying to join a new guild and just resign himself to playing the game solo… He could still be friends with DeNile after all.

Nicky decided he would give it one more day though, and if nothing changed, he would quit. He traveled to Kazindr as soon as he logged in, sighing as he anticipated the sharp remarks he would surely get in this location. What he hadn’t expected, however, was to be met with Andromache, or ‘Andy’ as Queen usually called her.

He glanced over to Tayyib and from the confused expression on his face, Nicky determined that no one had told him about the change of plans either.

“Alright, this is happening too slowly,” Andy said with a sigh as she looked at Nicky and then Tayyib sternly. The desert sun beat down on them and the bright light made Andy’s spotless, silverite armor sparkle. Her axe, unusually shaped and a dark matte black, was strapped to her back and her overall appearance was fairly impressive.

“Um… sorry?” Nico offered after a moment of silence, not sure what Andy or Queen wanted from them.

Andy glanced at him and shook her head.

“Both of you will be doing a dungeon challenge, the one in Altiora,” Andy said, and Tayyib shared another glance with Nico, the same panic rising in their eyes.

“But… that’s a level 50 dungeon,” Tayyib said, as if he was worried about insulting Andy by stating the obvious.

“And?” she said, brow raised. “Aren’t you two level 40 by this point? I made my first run through that dungeon at level 38 with Queen.”

Tayyib said nothing in response to that and neither did Nicky. The two of them had hit level 42 the day before, so there would be little chance of changing her mind. Nicky shrugged and turned from the teleportation circle to take the high road to Altiora.

The other town, Kazindr Village, was the low-level town and had been the site of Nicky’s altercation with Tayyib after their first…meeting. However, every area had a town for the lower-level players and another for higher levels. There were different quests and shops available in higher-level towns, more suitable for later level job and class requirements and, of course, they had higher level quests.

Altiora itself was stunning to behold, set upon a mountain cliff overlooking the desert, it was as if the entire town was ready to fling itself down into the dunes below. Nicky just wanted to get this over with, but he could appreciate the view despite the current company. Andy was as quiet as her wife, but not nearly as invisible. Nicky knew from the short conversation they’d had before everything that she was a Berserker and a Cook, but not much else.

Nicky and Tayyib entered the town together, Andy looming over them as they were directed toward the NPC that would give them the dungeon challenge. Nicky took the opportunity to pick up some potions and make a meal or two over the community cooking fire before they regrouped and set out for the dungeon.

They followed the path down the other side of the mountain, the steep incline was treacherous and felt as if it was the first part of the dungeon challenge. They found a few Sandobras along the way, but the slithering desert pests were relatively low level and a swing of his sword or Tayyib’s quickly took care of them. It was as they reached the dungeon entrance, a dark crevice in the center of the mountain, that Tayyib and Nicky paused to glance at each other again, nervously, before entering.

The caverns were cool and damp, entirely unlike the world outside them and lit by a glowing blue and green cave fungus that grew on the cavern walls. Nicky wasn’t sure, but he thought the background story for the dungeon was about the restless souls that haunted the mountain after a war had ravaged the land.

It was their justification for making all the enemies spirit types, Nicky discovered, and he spent a long, frustrating hour fighting Wraiths, Spirits, and Wisps alongside a man who was determined not to help him any more than was necessary. Luckily, his holy abilities and natural attributes helped with the more troublesome creatures; most of the spirit types were considered dark creatures. Tayyib had an easy enough time with the ones that hovered out of reach since a quick-fire spell would usually put a wayward Wisp or Spirit out of commission.

When it came to the Dungeon Boss, the Lich, it got a little trickier. All the natural advantage Holy gave him against Dark creatures was counteracted by the fifteen-level difference between himself and the monster. And the poisonous ectoplasm it constantly spewed didn’t help matters in the slightest. Tayyib and Nicky cast as many buffs as they could, Nicky eating a quick meal that would give him extra stamina and speed.

“Why are you eating at a time like this?” Tayyib yelled at him as he dodged another spew of glowing green ectoplasm.

“Shut up!” Nicky yelled back, feeling his strength and stamina points rise as he finished the granola bar. He cast Holy Wrath on himself and then cast Holy Smite on his sword. He needed all the boosts he could get to deal with the Lich.

Nicky waited until Tayyib had distracted the Lich again before he attacked, stabbing the creature through the back and gritting his teeth as its wailing pierced his ears. The rotting cloth and grey flesh rippled and burned around his sword and Nicky hoped he’d managed to deal a critical blow.

Joe took advantage of Nicky’s attack and quickly slashed at the Lich, his superior speed helping him get in several blows before the creature shook them both off. It was a long battle, even with Nicky’s natural advantage and Tayyib’s endless spell-casting, and it took them over an hour to whittle away the bosses’ HP down to zero.

By the end they were collapsed on the dungeon floor, just a few feet from each other as they breathed heavily. Their health, stamina, and MP were dangerously close to zero, but somehow, they had both managed not to die during the battle.

“Very good,” Andy said from her place outside the boss room. She was leaning casually against the grimy cave wall, the glowing blue fungus lighting up her face with its ghoulish light as she bit into an apple. “I’m almost impressed.”

Tayyib and Nicky shared a look with each other, before remembering themselves and trying to forget they’d commiserated with each other. Both of them stood up slowly, groaning as their HP points slowly recovered. Nicky took out one of his last potions, thankful that he’d thought to stock up on so many before they’d left Altiora.

Tayyib eyed it enviously, obviously not having thought ahead. Nicky thought he relied too heavily on his cure spell, Nicky remembered Tayyib’s smug triumph when he’d unlocked it, probably happy he wouldn’t have to rely on Nicky’s healing prayers. But now he didn’t have enough MP to cast it, the requirements for new spells were usually pretty inconvenient until you managed to upgrade them. Nicky sighed before opening up his menu.

“Here,” Nicky said, taking another potion out of inventory and tossing it over to Tayyib.

The other man was clearly startled, barely catching the potion in his hands and Nicky enjoyed watching the potion bounce between his hands before he managed to get a good grip on it.

“What the hell is this for?” Tayyib asked as he eyed the teardrop-shaped bottle and its glowing green liquid suspiciously.

“It’s a potion,” Nicky said, holding up his own half-drained bottle. “Obviously. Just give it back if you don’t want it.”

“…no,” Tayyib said as he popped open the cap and gulped some of it down. “If you’re foolish enough to give me one of your potions, I’m not going to give it back.”

“Maybe it’s actually poison,” Nicky muttered before taking another sip of his own. He smiled when he heard the other man sputter, but he decided not to pay him any mind and walked toward the exit instead.

Andy watched them with amusement sparkling in her eyes. Nicky wondered what that meant. Was she going to ask them both to join the guild now? Or were they still expected to meet up again tomorrow?

By the time he made it to her, she simply gestured for the two of them to lead the way, and he was too afraid to ask. Nicky finished off his potion and then sighed. He hoped that there weren’t a lot of respawned monsters. He wasn’t sure he could handle anything more threatening than a Sandobra or a Ratila.

It seemed liked his wish had mostly been granted, the path they’d cleared on the way to the boss was still empty and both Nicky and Tayyib breathed a sigh of relief.

But it was only a few minutes away from the entrance that a different problem emerged from the darkness.

“Keane?” Nicky asked, incredulity clear in his voice as he caught sight of his former guild mate.

Th other man was unmistakable, a veritable giant of a man who had clearly taken advantage of the size customizations you could make to your avatar. His armor only added to his intimidating figure. It was large and hulking and looked as if it had been made of raw chunks of metal. His weapon was an over-sized broad sword, which was more a sheet of metal attached to a hilt than anything Nicky would normally call a sword.

Not all of his interactions with Keane had been bad… though he could count on one hand how many had been _civil._ He didn’t think this would be one of the civil interactions considering the thunderous expression on the other man’s face and the general bad reaction from every one when Nicky quit the guild.

“Look who it is,” Keane said, his voice loud and taunting as he spoke to the people with him. They were all MERRICK guild members, though Nicky didn’t recognize any of them, and they followed Keane’s direction and chuckled derisively at Nicky, their beady eyes peering at him from underneath their armored helmets.

“Hello Keane,” Nicky said politely, sensing Tayyib bristle angrily next to him. He’d caught sight of the guild sashes then….

“Hello he says,” Keane repeated, rather stupidly Nicky thought. “You make all that fuss about honor and ethics, you insult us by walking out of the guild after all the help we gave you, and hello is all you have to say. What do you think of that, boys?”

Keane turned his head and grinned at his companions. They laughed on cue, and Nicky grit his teeth.

“I didn’t realize I owed you a debt,” Nicky said flatly. “If I’d known that when I started playing, I would have never joined MERRICK. I’ve never met a group of people so determined to ruin what should be a genuinely fun and interesting experience for everyone.”

Keane scoffed and shook his head. “And I never thought you were such a naïve idiot. We were both fooled.”

“Yes,” Nicky said softly, his temper blazing. “I was a fool every time I dismissed a rumor or excused any of your odd behavior. I’m glad I left, and if I had my way, I’d never see you or any of the others again.”

“Whatever,” Keane snorted. “We didn’t come for you anyway. I’m surprised you were able to take on the Altiora dungeon. I suppose you and your boyfriend here have already cleared the way?”

Nicky sighed but he startled nervously when Tayyib let out a sharp bark of laughter. The others startled too, looking at Tayyib with surprise and annoyance at his reaction to Keane’s poor joke. Until Keane’s comment, Nicky had forgotten that Tayyib was standing next to him.

“I knew that MERRICK was full of assholes,” Tayyib began conversationally, his tone light and friendly though the hand gripping the hilt of his sword belied his true agitation. “But I didn’t realize you were children too.”

“What,” Keane said flatly.

“You’re infants,” Tayyib clarified, his voice strong and clear. “Your mocking is thus infantile. He’s not my boyfriend, but it’s none of your business if he is or isn’t. Being gay isn’t an insult, and only children would think otherwise.”

Nicky looked wildly from his reluctant companion to Keane, torn between feeling admiration for Tayyib and dread for the upcoming fight. Keane had been more than ten levels ahead of him last time they’d seen each other, and Nicky doubted he’d managed to close the gap in the meantime.

“Just shut up,” Keane groaned as he pulled his sword from his back in a move that would have been impossible in real life. “We came here to complete the dungeon, but since it looks like that’s off the table and it’s just you two here, I’ll have to make this worth my time by cutting the traitor and his loverboy down a level or two.”

Nicky and Tayyib pulled their weapons quickly, Nicky taking a quick glance around the cavern and realizing that they actually were alone. Andy was nowhere to be seen. He sighed softly before turning his head to catch Tayyib’s eye.

Tayyib gave him a small nod and they both lunged at the same time. Nicky went for Keane’s feet, stabbing him quickly and viciously as Tayyib used his superior speed to dance around their larger opponent to cut the back of his knees.

Keane went down quickly, his eyes so wide that Nicky could see the whites even under his ridiculously over-sized helmet. Joe stabbed Keane in the back next, managing to find an opening in the armor and wrenching off one of those ridiculous pauldrons.

Nicky thought about lunging for another attack but had to dodge when Keane finally regained enough sense to swing his sword from his position on the floor. He rolled under the large slab of metal and raised his sword just in time to meet the blade of one of the bystanders.

After that it was a mess of shouting voices, singing metal and panting breaths. Nicky felt the nicks and cuts from glancing blows, though he cast Holy Armor over himself and Tayyib. It was the best protection he could muster for them with his remaining MP. The health they had only just regained ticked down slowly as Nicky struggled against his opponents, Tayyib fighting at his side.

 _I don’t want to die here_ , Nicky thought desperately. Not here, not now, not to Keane and his goons. It was one thing to lose a level fighting Tayyib, but the thought of his old guild killing him, now and like this… it was mortifying. He thought Tayyib felt the same way.

Together they managed to kill three of the other guild members, though that still left five more and Keane to deal with. They’d never fully recovered from completing the dungeon and their newest opponents were fresh and ready to fight.

Nicky thought their luck might have run out with Keane managed to get a decent hit on Tayyib, catching him with the flat of his blade and flinging him into the cave wall with the force of the blow.

“Get up!” Nicky yelled desperately as he blocked another attack, dodging and then dodging again. There was no end to the attacks, just one after another now that he was standing alone. “Tayyib! Get up! _Please_!”

Nicky heard a wild yell and caught a glint of gold out of the corner of his eye before one of the Warriors circling him was tackled to the floor, his helmet flung from his head and a flaming scimitar stabbed through his face.

Nicky watching with wonder as the man was defeated and Tayyib stood slowly, a thunderous look in his eyes as he stared down their opponents, the gold medallions sewed into his tunic flashing brightly as he swung the flaming sword in front of their faces with a taunting smile.

“Well?”

Tayyib and Nicky threw themselves back into the fray, Tayyib with his flaming sword and Nicky casting Protect and Smite every time his MP recovered. Even with five opponents left it was a struggle, but the weeks of working together with his greatest enemy were good for something. Perhaps even the time they’d spent fighting each other helped them sync up so perfectly, Nicky barely needed to stop and think about Tayyib meant to do. He knew that when he flipped one of the warriors over his shoulder with a low tackle, Tayyib would be there to finish him off. 

All of this had to be accomplished while dodging the wide swinging arc of Keane’s blade, though they were fortunate that the cavern was narrow enough to make that difficult for him. Nicky’s head was spinning by the time they’d killed another of the lower-level guild members, the constant spellcasting and dodging of weapons felt endless.

Joe was panting next to him, their backs pressed together as they faced their two remaining opponents, not including Keane who had backed away to the far corner of the cave. He was blocking the exit, Nicky thought with some alarm, but he couldn’t focus on that. He was completely out of MP, the bar recovering slowly as he held up his sword defensively.

“Well, this is annoying,” Keane said lazily. “But those losers should be back soon enough.”

Keane gestured to the crumpled avatars of the players they had already defeated, and Nicky swallowed nervously. It was true. The nearest graveyard was in Altiora, and it wouldn’t take longer than ten minutes for them to travel back to the dungeon and revive. They needed to end this quickly.

“Any ideas?” Nicky whispered to Tayyib. They were still back-to-back, circling slowly as they faced down their last grim-faced opponents. Nicky suspected they hadn’t expected to be killed by two exhausted players on their way out of a dungeon, but Nicky supposed it was fair that no one here was having a good day.

“No,” Tayyib whispered back. “Just, I don’t know, stab them.”

Nicky snorted, but lunged at his closest enemy, making the man skitter backwards.

“Great advice, thank you Tayyib,” Nicky said sarcastically. “Couldn’t have thought of that myself.”

“Glad to be of help,” he chuckled, and Nicky couldn’t help but smile in response. It was strange, the type of scenarios that would make you bond with your worst enemy. Though he supposed Keane and the rest of MERRICK ranked higher than Tayyib. His old nemesis was just an annoyance in comparison.

“Let’s make a run for the door,” Tayyib whispered after a brief skirmish. “I don’t like our chances if the others wake up.”

Nicky glanced in Keane’s direction. The man was blocking almost the entire doorway.

“How?” Nicky whispered back.

“I have a smoke bomb,” Tayyib said softly. “Gift from my sister.”

At that, the pieces came together in Nicky’s mind. With a distraction, they just might be able to stumble their way out of this.

“Do it,” Nicky mumbled.

“Stop whispering sweet nothings to each other,” Keane taunted, the man dropped his sword and leaned against the entrance wall with a smug smile.

“Now, do it now,” Nicky urged, seeing that there would be no better chance than this.

In a moment, a small dark object was thrown into the middle of the room and a dark cloud instantly covered everything, clouding Nicky’s vision and making him cough.

“Let’s go,” Tayyib shouted, and Nicky felt his companion’s hand grab his wrist and tug him toward the exit. Nicky stumbled for a moment before he pictured the cave in his mind’s eye and dashed forward. He kept his body low, picking up speed, and then smashed into Keane’s knees.

He stumbled as Keane falling with a surprised bellow. Joe grabbed a hold of his shoulder, pulling him to his feet and urging him forward.

“Come on, keep moving,” Tayyib yelled in Nicky’s ear.

Nicky coughed, but scrambled to keep up with the other man, eyes blurring from the effect of the smoke bomb. He followed the shine of Tayyib’s gold coat, thoughtlessly running wherever the other man decided to lead him.

It could have been a few minutes, it could have been an hour, but eventually he emerged from the dungeon entrance with Tayyib at his side. The glare of the sun against the desert sands burned his eyes, but the fresh air and freedom more than made up for it.

He turned his head to share a look with Tayyib, but to his confusion, the other man was already glaring at him. No, at something behind him. Nicky turned his head to look, and he was struck by the sight of Andy leaning against the mountain face next to the dungeon entrance.

“Andy?” Nicky asked, feeling bewildered. “Where did you…?”

“She abandoned us,” Tayyib spat, drawing his sword and pointing it at the other woman. “Quynh said she would intervene in case of an emergency. Glad to know that _you_ would leave us to the slaughter.”

“Calm down,” Andy said, rolling her eyes as she pushed herself away from where she’d been lounging. “If they’d killed you, I’d have gone in and taken care of things.”

“If they’d _killed us_?” Nicky asked incredulously.

“Losing a level won’t hurt you,” Andy said drily. “Obviously. You two used to do it to each other all the time. But I wanted to see if you could get out of the situation by yourselves.”

“And?” Tayyib asked, still fuming but calmer… at least for now. “What’s the verdict now that we’re out?”

“Um, Keane and the others are actually still there…” Nicky said, glancing at the entrance nervously.

“Oh, you didn’t kill all of them?” Andy asked, drawing the axe from her back as she side-eyed them judgmentally.

“We killed most of them…” Tayyib mumbled looking around the small clearing where they were standing and sighed. There was very little room to maneuver and with no ledge to protect them, they would be in danger of falling over a hundred meters into the desert below.

Andy didn’t acknowledge them, simply waited by the entrance, staying just out of sight. Tayyib and Nicky shared a look and unsheathed their weapons again. It only took a few moments, Keane and the others must have waited until the last of their group resurrected, but in a moment, Keane was emerging from the darkness. His face, what little you could see under his hulking helmet, was thunderous. He was pointing his large slab of a sword out in front of him, staring at Tayyib and Nicky with fire in his eyes.

Nicky tensed, waiting for the attack to come, and trying not to glance at Andy. She would be the only thing standing between him and death most likely.

As soon as Keane crossed over the threshold of the dungeon, Andy struck. The silver edge of her double-bladed round axe caught Keane at the collar where there was a gap in his armor. Nicky didn’t know what level she was exactly, but she felled Keane in one stroke. Blood gushed from the wound in his neck, almost splattering Nicky’s feet as he stared at the choking figure of his tormentor.

The man’s companions cried out in shock and alarm, they scrambled back away from the entrance as Andy stepped over Keane’s body to face them.

“Tell your boss to watch his back,” Andy said, her voice cracking like a whip. “The Old Guard is coming for him.”

She flung her axe at the closest enemy, striking him square in the chest and killing him instantly. Instead of deciding to run, the others stupidly decided to attack her now that Andy had unarmed herself, but the first to reach her learned their lesson well.

Andy reached out and grabbed her assailant’s neck, snapping it as easily as one might snap a twig before she kicked the man behind him in the chest. It sent him flying across the cavern floor. Andy walked over and pulled her axe from her second victim’s chest, and she raised an eyebrow at the remaining warriors.

“Well?” she said calmly. “Anyone else?”

The few who remained glanced at the dead bodies of their companions, at the nearly beheaded corpse of Keane lying at the entrance before one shook his head and backed up. They all scrambled away from Andy then and disappeared back into the cave.

“That was fun,” Andy said cheerfully as she stepped back out into the clearing. She looked Tayyib and Nicky up and down, taking in their roughed up and stunned appearances.

“Let’s head back to Alexandria,” she said thoughtfully. “I need to call a guild meeting.”


	8. Decisions

Joe paced the length of the living room before turning around and doing it again. It felt like his nerves were singing with adrenaline still after the encounter he’d had with MERRICK. He glanced at Nico, the other man sitting patiently on one of the sofas, but he could tell from the pinched look on the other man’s face that he was dealing with his own inner turmoil.

The battle with Keane earlier had opened Joe’s eyes, made him realize who his true enemy was. It had even been… Joe hesitated to say ‘pleasant’ but it had been easy to fight alongside the Paladin. Which was remarkable considering how exhausted and outnumbered they had been. He might not like Nico, he might never be friends with the other man, but… he had to admit, he wasn’t the worst person in the world. There was integrity there, especially if half of what Keane accused Nico of was true.

Joe was also humble enough now to admit that Nico had been taken advantage of as a new player and that the way Joe had made assumptions about the man had… maybe been unfair. It was up to Andy and the others now though, whether Joe and Nico would stay or leave. Joe wanted to join The Old Guard more than ever now that his motivations were stronger than “I want to prove that Nico is a bastard.” He wanted to join a guild that had a chance of rivaling MERRICK, to put them in their place, and he wanted it _badly_.

Joe remembered how Andy had demolished Keane and his companions, tearing into them like they were wooden dummies. He knew that Booker was a formidable opponent and Queen’s very appearance screamed danger. He didn’t know the other Paladin, but if she’d been chosen as part of this elite team….

“What do you think is taking them so long?” Nico’s soft voice asked. For the first time, Joe didn’t feel anger choking his throat when he heard the other man speak, and he realized that… it was nice. He felt lighter, more settled without the constant annoyance plaguing him.

“Don’t know,” Joe said thoughtfully. He finally sat down on the sofa next to Nico, and he could tell he had startled him by the act. The Joe of even a day ago wouldn’t have sat down next to Nico. “Andy’s probably going over the day’s events with them, and they’re probably talking it over, but it’s been more than half an hour now…”

“Mmm,” Nico hummed in agreement, his strangely bright eyes focused on the fire as he thought. “It’s a big decision for them to make, I suppose.”

“I guess,” Joe sighed. “I think we’ve more than proved that we can work together though.”

Nico turned to look at him, his ridiculously blue-green gaze pinning him in his seat as the other man said nothing. Joe shifted, feeling uncomfortable. That was one of the reasons he would probably never be friends with this man, though he might be able to manage friendly. He was so awkward and silent sometimes that it made Joe feel awkward and uncomfortable too. He didn’t know what to do with him, especially now that attacking him with his sword was no longer an option.

“Yes, I think we have,” Nico said, and the tense moment passed. “I _am_ sorry, by the way. For the confusion with your sister. And for how I hunted you down after Manti’rak.”

“I… my sister’s fine,” Joe shrugged, feeling embarrassed. “She was actually over it a week after it happened. I was the one that couldn’t let it go. I shouldn’t have attacked you in Kazindr, especially when I’d already killed you once.”

“You thought that I was a person who targeted your sister,” Nico sighed. “And now that I know the truth about MERRICK, and especially after today, I honestly don’t blame you…”

“Clean slate then?” Joe asked, holding out his hand for Nico to shake. “I’m Tayyib.”

Nico stared at his hand for a moment, before a laugh bubbled up out of his throat, making his eyes shine all the brighter. Joe felt nervous all of a sudden, he couldn’t think of why though. Embarrassment, maybe?

“Nico,” he said, taking Joe’s hand and giving it a firm shake. “Um, you can call me Nicky actually. If you like.”

“Oh,” Joe said, feeling lost. “Is… that your real name? You probably shouldn’t tell me that.”

“It’s a nickname I go by,” Nico said with a shrug. “Neither of them are my real name.”

“Oh…” Joe said. That made sense. It wasn’t even as if Joe was his legal name either…. “Call me Joe then.”

“Joe,” Nicky repeated with a small smile, one that made all the awkward planes of his face softer and less severe. The glow of the firelight lit up his face and he looked less gaunt, though the circles under his eyes were as dark as they ever were. “It’s good to meet you.”

“Likewise,” Joe said, realizing that he was telling the truth.

Perhaps they could become friends after all…

“Glad to see that you too are getting along,” Andy’s dry voice came from the entrance to the living room. She was dressed once again in her loose black tunic, the front of which was tucked into tight leather pants. Her feet were bare, and she looked extremely comfortable. It made Joe long for his own home more than ever.

“Something like that,” Nicky said with a chuckle. “Have you made your decision?”

“Oh, we decided to invite you to stay, of course,” Andy said with a wave of her hand. “Now get into the kitchen, I’m going to make a cake in celebration.”

Joe laughed in delight, feeling like the universe was in alignment once more. He was sure he’d never hear the end of it from his sister, especially after all the griping he had subjected her to these last few months, but that was for later it seemed.

“Oh?” Nicky said, perking up. “That’s right, you’re a Cook too. What level are you?”

“I maxed out the cooking skill,” Andy said with a smug grin, she laughed at Nicky’s shocked face. “Want to watch me make the cake?”

“…Yes,” Nicky said after a moment. “I’ve heard that after maxing out, it’s all about creating new and interesting flavor profiles. The base ones are…”

“Bland as shit?” Andy said archly.

“Well…” Nicky said, getting up and following the Berserker into the kitchen. Joe got up too, bemused as they continued to discuss the fine points of cooking in WAP.

“Cake’s and other confectionary are surprisingly difficult to figure out the flavor profile for,” Andy said with excitement as she set up some pots and pans in the kitchen. The equipment popped out of the cabinets even when it looked physically impossible for them to fit inside.

“I’ve managed to bake some sweetbreads in the communal kitchens,” Nicky said thoughtfully as Andy opened up her inventory and began to pile different ingredients onto the counter. “It’s very… hit or miss though.”

“Ugh,” Andy grunted with disgust at the mention of the communal kitchens.

“Over here, Tayyib,” a soft, familiar voice called out to him.

Joe looked up from where he had been observing Nico and Andy geek to the kitchen table. Queen was sitting there at the table and across from her was Booker and the other Paladin. Joe walked over to them sheepishly, waving at Booker who had laughter dancing in his eyes.

“Took you long enough,” Booker said with a smile. He stood up from his seat and clapped Joe on the back. “I’m glad you managed to impress the boss.”

Joe chuckled, feeling self-conscious suddenly about the last few months. “Well, it only took getting ambushed in a dungeon by those MERRICK goons to do it.”

The Paladin snorted before she looked up and smiled at him. “Hi, I don’t think we were ever introduced. I’m DeNile.”

She held out her hand for Joe to shake and he took it, firmly shaking it and giving her a bright smile.

“It’s good to meet you, I’m Tayyib,” Joe said.

“Ha! I’ve heard,” she said with a laugh. “I’m glad you’re getting along with Nico now. He’s actually a really sweet guy when you get to know him. A great cook too.”

Joe smiled back. It was still strange to hear someone speak well of the person he’d only just learned how not to hate and not immediately disagree with them.

“I’ll take your word for it about the cooking,” Joe said with a shrug. “As far as food goes, I haven’t really had anything player-made. Mostly I’ve eaten in Alexandria cafes.”

“You’re missing out on the good stuff then,” Queen said with a smile. She nodded over to where Andy had started mixing ingredients together, the low hum of her voice as she explained what she was doing to Nicky buzzed in the background, the words nearly indecipherable from the kitchen table.

“Is it really that different?” Joe asked with a frown. He’d heard from a lot of people that cooking was a bit of a bust in game. A lot of the recipes didn’t taste good if you followed them exactly, and only a few had managed to unlock the secret to making tasty recipes. Joe was sure he’d rather just buy things prepared by NPCs or eat delicious things in real life.

“Nico can make anything taste delicious,” DeNile said with a dreamy look on her face. “He makes a fruit bread that I would die for. And one time he got his hands on an A class ingredient, I thought I actually had died.”

“Oh, wait until you see what level 60 Cook can whip up in custom kitchen,” Queen said with a mischievous smile.

“I’ve had Andy’s stuff before though,” DeNile said with a frown. “It’s good, don’t get me wrong…”

“Have you ever eaten a dish with an S class ingredient though?” Queen asked sweetly.

“There… there are S class ingredients,” DeNile said, she reached out and grabbed Queen’s hand. “How…how was it.”

“The most delicious thing I’ve ever eaten,” Queen whispered. “And I’m including Andy on that list.”

“Ugh,” DeNile said, pulling her hands back. “No. Why? Why did you have to- You guys are like, closer to my mom’s age. No.”

Booker chuckled to himself, hiding his laughter poorly into his steaming cup of tea. Joe caught his eye and then they both busted up laughing as DeNile groaned.

“Sounds like you guys are having fun over there,” Andy called, she was glancing at them out of the corner of her eye. She winked at her wife, making Queen giggle and DeNile groan again, though Joe was pretty sure she was being dramatic for the sake of it.

Nicky glanced at them over Andy’s shoulder, giving Joe a curious look as he began to mingle with the others. He was quickly distracted by something Andy did, something to do with oven settings, Joe couldn’t tell. He continued to chat with the other three, Booker at his side, DeNile to their right and Queen across from them.

For the first time in a long time, Joe felt like he might be able to enjoy the game again. He felt at peace.

~~~~~

Nicky had to stop himself from glancing over at the table several times. For some reason, the idea of Joe talking with DeNile made him nervous. He wasn’t sure why exactly… perhaps because he had vented about Joe to her so many times, he didn’t want to be the reason they couldn’t get along now.

It seemed like his fears were unfounded however, and soon they were all laughing together. Genuine delight lit up DeNile’s eyes as she spoke to Joe and joked with the others. It was strange to see his former enemy looking so soft, his eyes and smile as bright as his armor. The soft curls of his hair were lightly tousled and bouncing slightly with every shake of his head.

Nicky was bumped in the side by Andy’s elbow, and he turned, flushing as his new guild leader smirked at him. It was easy enough to ignore what was going on in the rest of the room when he focused on Andy’s cooking. His cooking skill was only level 21 which was nothing compared to Andy’s level 60, the highest level you could attain for your job class. There were so many options, so many recipes, and with her magnificent kitchen, he could practically see the Boysenberry Lemon Angel Food cake coming to life.

He was distracted by another rumble of throaty laughter, his eyes darting to the table again and he was struck by the way the light reflected off the little medallions sewn into Joe’s tunic and his bronze armor, how it made his skin glow.

Joe’s eyes darted over to him, glowing smile still on his face, and Nicky felt something swirling in his chest, a feeling he was too scared to name.

 _Oh_ , Nicky thought before he turned away again, sure that if they were in the real world his face would be on fire. He tried his best to focus on Andy, the little adjustments she was making to the ingredients, the explanation behind her stirring methods and how she set the oven.

“That’s it,” Andy said as she closed the heavy iron oven door with a loud _clank!_ “Now we wait for about ten minutes and enjoy.”

“Ten minutes?” Nicky asked, bemused by the short cooking time.

“There’s only so much realism,” Andy said with a shrug. “I still have the stats maxed out on my cooking and my equipment is the best, so cooking times are pretty short. Let’s sit down, we still need you and Tayyib to officially join the guild.”

Nicky nodded and followed behind her. Andy sat down next to her wife, falling down into the chair and pressing a kiss to her cheek. Nicky looked at the table and saw that he had two options… either he could sit down next to Joe or he could awkwardly shuffle around everyone to sit next to DeNile by the back wall. Well, in the interest of keeping the peace….

Nicky sat stiffly in his chair, very aware that everyone was waiting for him.

“Now,” Andy said before taking a book out of her inventory. Nicky recognized it as a Guild book, something that lower-level guilds used to sign up new members. “Just need you guys to print your usernames and we’ll be good to go.”

“So… what are we going to be doing here?” Joe asked once Nicky had finished writing his name and passed the Guild book over to him.

“Learning to work together as a team,” Andy said firmly. “I want what the other guilds don’t have. Complete cohesion, complete trust. That means practice. That means leveling up.”

“We’re not going to need any other members?” Nicky asked, looking around the table at the small group. There was only six of them. MERRICK only had over 200 members.

“No,” Andy said, a fierce look in her eyes. “This is all we need. If someone else wants to join, we’ll vet them, but I want to move forward with this group and start training.”

“Okay, boss,” Booker said with a nod. “We start questing tomorrow then?”

“Yup,” Andy said. “Bright and early. We’ll meet up here as soon as we log on. I want to devote at least four hours every day to this.”

Nicky chewed his lip thoughtfully. Fours was a lot of time, but it still gave him plenty of time to take care of whatever solo in-game things he wanted to do.

“Okay,” Joe said, his arms crossed and a thoughtful frown on his face. “If that’s what it takes to beat MERRICK, then so be it.”

“Not only them,” Queen said with a sharp smile. “But yes, they’re one of our main targets. The next tournament is pretty far away, but we’ll need all the time we can get to prepare.”

The chat was less serious after that, and Nicky found it easier to let his mind drift. He was more aware of Joe’s presence next to him than he’d ever been, he could practically feel the heat of the other man’s warmth against his skin. Nicky scolded himself. They’d only just solved their issues a few hours earlier, Joe didn’t think of him like that. Wouldn’t think of him like that. Ever.

 _Do I really…?_ Nicky thought, agonizing internally. Surely not. It was just… aesthetic appreciation. Joe had a good-looking avatar and a sense of style. It was fine. He was fine.

“Nico,” Andy said, and Nicky’s head shot up, aware now that he’d been ignoring the conversation. “Want to see how the cake turned out?”

Nicky nodded, thankful for the opportunity to leave Joe’s side. He didn’t like Joe _like that_. He could do this. He was fine.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! This is part one of what will be a three part series <3 Look forward to more!


End file.
